My Own Demise
by Kyra5972
Summary: Harry’s tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.
1. I Devise My Own Demise

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach from their _Paramour Sessions_ CD.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Attempted suicide.

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Harry Potter sat in the dark, dank attic of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, a half empty bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. He absolutely hated this house. _'Just like Sirius hated the place.'_ Harry thought. At the thought of his Godfather, Harry raised the bottle in a mockery of a toast and took another huge gulp.

Harry had been living at Number 12 for the past two weeks, since the day after his 16th birthday when Dumbledore had deemed it okay for Harry to leave his aunt and uncle's house on Privet Drive. Harry would have rather stayed on Privet Drive than stay at the house that had served as his Godfather's prison for the past year; though nobody listened when he told them this, just looked at him sadly and told him it was for his own good. Harry snorted at the thought and took another swig of firewhiskey.

Hermione and the Weasleys had already been at Grimmauld place when Harry arrived. Normally, he would have been happy to see them, but at this point he just wanted them to leave him the hell alone. All they had done since he had arrived was pester him and try to get him to talk about what had happened at the Department of Mysteries at the end of the year and try to reassure him that it wasn't his fault that Sirius was dead. "Of course it's not my fault!" Harry muttered, "It's Voldemort's, for sending me those stupid visions. And Snape's for not even _trying_ to teach me Occlumency. And Dumbledore's for locking him up in this damned house, everyone knew he despised this place." The only person who had left him alone at all in the time he had been at Number 12 was Draco Malfoy, who had shown up with Professor Snape a couple days ago, beaten and bloodied because he had refused to become a Death Eater. It had been determined that Grimmauld Place would be the safest place for the blonde until school started. While Draco hadn't tried to interact with Harry in any way, Harry had noticed that the Slytherin would occasionally stare at him with an odd look in his eyes, one that Harry couldn't quite figure out.

He took another drink from the bottle in his hand. He had discovered Sirius's secret stash of Firewhiskey about a week after he got to the house. So far, in the past week, he had worked his way through two full bottles and was currently working on his third, the fourth sitting next to him in case he finished his current bottle before he was done drinking for the night. Every night for the past week, once everyone had fallen asleep Harry would sneak out of the room he shared with Ron and silently make his way up to the attic to attempt to drink away his memories. Memories of his mother screaming and sacrificing her life for his, memories of a snake-like voice saying "Kill the spare" followed by a blinding green light and the dull thud of Cedric's lifeless body landing on the ground of the cemetery, memories of the look of complete shock on Sirius's face as he fell through the veil. In his effort to drown his bad memories, he would try to think of the happier memories he had, however few they were. Being accepted to Hogwarts, meeting Ron and Hermione, finding out that he could live with Sirius once the older man's name was cleared. "Only, Sirius is dead now. So it doesn't matter much if his name is cleared or not." Harry muttered darkly.

_I can't control everything  
__And I can't forget just what I've seen  
__And these memories take me away  
__To a better place than I am today_

Taking a couple more swigs of the alcohol in his hand, Harry let his thoughts wander to the war with Voldemort. _'Stupid Snake-Face! And apparently, I'm the one who has to kill the bastard!'_ He snorted, _'Like I can actually do that with the training I've been given so far. What am I supposed to do…Tickle him to death? Cause that will be _soooo_ effective against the Cruciatus and Avada Kedavra! Not to mention, everyone seems to think that I can do this on my own. That the rest of the Wizarding World can just sit around on their fat arses and let me, a sixteen-year-old, untrained boy, go out and kill the evil fucker.'_ Harry thought derisively._ 'That or I'm supposed to die trying, right? I mean that's my sole purpose for living, isn't it? I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived! My only purpose is to kill Voldemort!'_ He took another large gulp and continued his train of thought, _'I either kill Voldemort or he kills me. Well, what if that's not how I want to die? What if I want to decide how I'll die?'_ With that thought, Harry reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a small razor, staring at it contemplatively for a moment before taking another swig of firewhiskey then setting the now empty bottle to the side and opening a new one, taking a large gulp before going back to staring at the razor in his hands.

_I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing  
__I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing_

Making up his mind, Harry took another long draw from the new bottle and set it down next to him. He took the razor in his right hand and firmly pressed it against his left wrist, wincing slightly at the sting, watching in morbid fascination as he drew the blade across his wrist, as the blood welled to the surface. Once the first cut was made he once again picked up his firewhiskey and drank a bit more before returning to his current task. He once again drew the blade across his left wrist, watching as more blood welled to the surface and joined the blood from the first cut, running down his arm and dripping on the floor. Tilting his head slightly, Harry moved the blade up to just before the crook of his elbow, pressed down firmly and drug the razor down the length of his arm until the new cut had intersected with the first two across his wrists. He did this once more before placing the razor in his now bloody left hand and reached over with his good hand to grab his firewhiskey. He once again raised the bottle in a mock toast, "Here's to Life. The Life I'm losing!" He exclaimed before drinking half the bottle in one go.

_It is time to say "Hello, Goodbye"  
__(Hello, Goodbye)  
__To fade away, Fade away alone  
__(Motherfuck it, Goodbye!)  
__I just want you to take, take me back home  
__To a better place that I've never know  
__That I've never known_

He shook his head, feeling lightheaded from the amount of alcohol in his system and the blood loss. After setting the bottle aside again, he once again gripped the razor, this time in his left hand, and pulled it across his right wrist. Once, twice, three times across his wrist before moving on to his arm. He vaguely noticed that the cuts on his right wrist were much more jagged than the one's on his left. _'Probably because it kept slipping because of the blood.'_ He thought, then shrugged, _'Oh well.'_ He then made two long cuts down the inside of his right arm before placing the razor on the floor next to him.

_I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing  
__I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing_

He sat slumped against the wall of the attic, staring in morbid fascination as his blood poured from the cuts he had made. _'Finally, peace at last. No more Voldemort, no more nagging, no more nightmares.'_ Harry thought. As the darkness started to close in on him, he let his eyes fall shut and allowed memories wash over him. Memories of times spent with Ron and Hermione, times spent with Sirius, of seeing his family in the Mirror of Erised. He let the memories flow over him and take him away to a better place as he started slipping in and out of consciousness.

_I can't control everything  
__(Death is the only way out!)  
__And I can't forget just what I've seen  
__(Death is the only way out!)  
__These memories take me away  
__To a better place than I am today  
__Than I am today_

Harry sighed and surrendered to the insistent darkness, pulling the images of his parents and Sirius to the front of his mind, wanting them to be the last things he would see.

_I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing  
__I devise my own demise  
__Here's to Life – the Life I'm losing  
_…_This Life I'm losing  
__(This Life I'm losing)  
_…_This Life I'm losing  
__(This Life I'm losing)  
__I devise my...own demise_

Just as Harry was about to slip into unconsciousness for the final time he dimly heard the attic door creak open and a soft, horrified exclamation of "Potter!" before hands grasped onto his shoulders, shaking him insistently. He opened his eyes a crack to see the blurry, blonde head of Draco Malfoy in front of him.

"G'way, Mafoy," Harry slurred, "'M tryin' t'die here." That said he let his eyes drift shut once more.

"Damn it, Potter!" Draco exclaimed, "Wake the fuck up!" He slapped Harry across the face. Harry groaned but didn't open his eyes again. Draco quickly pulled off his t-shirt and ripped it into strips to use as bandages for Harry's arms until he could get to his wand to heal the cuts. He wrapped the strips tightly around Harry's wrists and arms, putting pressure on the wounds and hoping it would stop the bleeding or at least slow it down some. He once again shook Harry and slapped him across the face trying to wake him up. "Potter! Damn it, Harry! Wake up! Come on; open those pretty green eyes for me. Please! Don't you dare fuckin' die on me! Do you hear me? I swear to Merlin, if you die I will find a way to bring you back just so I can fuckin' kill you myself! Do you hear me, Potter? Damn it, Harry, wake the fuck up!" He exclaimed. "Shit!"

Draco quickly picked Harry up and hurried down to the bathroom. Sticking Harry in the shower stall, he reached over and turned on the shower, raining cold water down onto the brunette boy, hoping to shock him awake. He knelt down next to the other boy and lightly slapped at his cheek, getting soaked in the process. Seeing that that wasn't working, Draco hauled back and slapped Harry as hard as he could.

As Draco's hand came in contact with Harry's face, the bloody boy let out a sharp gasp and his eyes fluttered but didn't open. Satisfied that the dark haired boy wouldn't die in the next few minutes, Draco jumped up and ran into his room across the hall and grabbed his wand before rushing back to the bathroom. Reentering the bathroom, he locked the door behind him and put up a silencing charm.

He hurried back over to Harry he once again shook the other boy nodding in satisfaction when a light groan escaped. Reassured that his patient hadn't died in the few seconds he was gone, the blonde pulled the bandages off Harry's left wrist and whispered a spell to clean the wound, then one to disinfect it, followed by one to close the cut. He repeated the spells three more times, cleaning and closing each cut on Harry's left arm before turning his attention to the right. He removed the bandages and cleaned and healed each cut, noticing that these seemed to be more jagged than the ones on the left arm. "Damn it, Harry, what did you do this for? I figured you were up there drinking every night, but I sure as hell didn't expect this." Draco muttered as he used the water from the shower to wash the excess blood off the other boy's arms, not even bothering to wash off the blood he had gotten on himself from carrying and healing Harry. Once Harry was cleaned off Draco turned off the shower and used a towel to dry the brunette's arms and dug around under the sink until he found a first aid kit. He pulled out some bandages and a healing cream then set about dressing Harry's wounds. After spreading the cream on the Gryffindor's arms he tightly wrapped them with the bandages from the first aid kit. Then he dug back into the first aid kit until he found a bottle of Blood Replenishing potion. He lightly tapped Harry on the face until he got a reaction before gently tipping a bit of the potion into the dark haired boy's mouth and gently massaging his throat, coaxing him to swallow. He repeated the process a couple more times until Harry had downed the whole bottle of potion.

Knowing he had done all he could, Draco once again scooped Harry up into his arms and exited the bathroom. Crossing the hall, he entered his own room gently kicking the door closed behind him he made his way over to the only bed in the room and gently set Harry down on one side and pulled the covers up over the unconscious boy. He stood back and stared at the other boy for a moment before reaching out and gently brushing a lock of hair out of the darker boy's eyes. He sighed deeply. "Sleep well, Harry," Draco murmured, "Because when you wake up, you have some _serious_ explaining to do."

He then grabbed a pair of pajama pants and made his way back to the bathroom to shower and wash Harry's blood off of himself before returning to his room and climbing into bed next to the boy who had been his rival for so long, whose life he had just saved. His last thought before sleep claimed him was that tomorrow would no doubt be a long day.

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**Well, what do you think? Please, please, please review and let me know! I know it was really depressing, but I got the new Papa Roach CD for Christmas and this idea had been bugging me since about the third time I heard the song.**

**To be honest, I didn't really plan on having anyone save Harry. Originally, I had planned that he would succeed and die, but I just couldn't do that. And since I wanted the person who saved him to be someone who wouldn't really judge him too harshly for attempting suicide and someone who wouldn't suffocate him and constantly breathe down his neck afterward, I couldn't really use Hermione or any of the Weasleys. Which is how Draco ended up being the savior. It was either him or Snape and I could see Snape holding it against Harry or saying it was just a way for him to get more attention.**

**I had also planned for this to just be a one-shot, ya know since Harry was gonna die and everything. But since Harry was saved, that leaves it open for more chapters, even if it's only one or two. Let me know if you think I should leave it as is or if I should continue it.**

**Oh and FYI, this was 5 pages and 2,385 words including lyrics.**

**Thanx A Bunch,**

**Kyra**


	2. Explaining To Do

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, mostly just hints of it for now.

**A/N:** Well, I decided to continue this one. So far everyone who has reviewed wanted to see more and who am I to say no?

I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter 2: Explaining To Do**

Harry groaned softly as his mind slowly made its way back to consciousness. The first thing he became aware of was the pounding in his head, followed shortly by an itching on both of his arms. Just as he went to scratch at his arms he became aware of something else - there was a hard body pressed against his back; and by the feel of it neither he nor his bed partner was wearing a shirt. Harry's eyes snapped open as the realization sank in. _'What the hell did I do last night?'_ He thought. He shifted slightly, trying to turn so that he could see who he was in bed with but instead froze as the other occupant sighed softly and tightened the arm he had wrapped around Harry's stomach, pulling him closer while nuzzling his face into Harry's neck. As he lay there frozen trying to figure out what to do, Harry once again became aware of the itching on his arms. He looked down quickly to see white bandages wrapped securely around both arms from wrist to elbow. As he looked at his arms, flashes of images and memory from the night before flooded his mind. Going up to the attic, drinking himself into oblivion, deciding that he was tired of everyone expecting him to save the world, making the decision to end his life, cutting his wrists and arms, the world fading from around him, then the sound of a door and someone else's voice followed by the image of Draco Malfoy's face. After that things were much fuzzier, at that point the darkness had crept in, broken only occasionally by a sharp slap or a burst of freezing water.

Glancing past his own arms to the one wrapped securely around his waist, he noticed the pale complexion of the skin and realized that the person behind him must be Malfoy. Quickly glancing around the room, he confirmed that yes, this was Malfoy's room which meant that there was absolutely no doubt in his mind as to just who was snuggled against him.

Looking back down at his arms, Harry couldn't help but be angry at the blonde. _'Why the hell couldn't he have just let me die?'_ He thought. A moment later Harry felt the boy behind him stir, the arm around his waist tightened again briefly before relaxing. There was a soft, low moan next to his ear that caused a slight shiver to race through his body.

Draco shifted a bit as he started coming awake, the entirety of the front of his body rubbing against Harry's back. Harry tensed as yet another shiver made its way through his body. Draco blinked his eyes open sleepily before realizing just how close he was to Harry and that he had an arm wrapped around the other boy. He pulled back slightly, his hand sliding over Harry's bare abs as he pulled his arm back. He paused, his hand lightly resting on Harry's hip, as he felt the other boy shiver a bit. He looked at Harry and noticed just how tense the Gryffindor was, realizing that he was probably awake. Propping himself up on the arm that was under him, he looked at the raven-haired boy. "Harry?" He questioned slightly, "You awake?"

Harry sighed softly before rolling over onto his back to look at Draco, "Yeah, I'm awake."

Draco pulled his hand back the rest of the way, running it through his hair before laying it on the bed between them. "So do you want to tell me what that was about last night?" He asked.

Harry simply stared at him for a moment before answering, "No," He said flatly as he looked away.

Draco continued watching his long-time rival as he gave his response. "Well, that's just too damn bad, isn't it? Because you're going to tell me," He stated.

Harry turned angry eyes on the blonde, "Excuse me? I don't have to tell you shit, Malfoy! It's none of your fucking business!" He exclaimed. "I'm not telling you anything and you can't make me so just piss off!"

"You're right, it's not my business. Silly me. Why should I think it's any of my business why I ended up healing you when you tried to kill yourself?" Draco replied sarcastically. "And you _don't_ have to tell me anything. I mean, I'm sure that you'd rather talk to Lupin or one of the Weasels, right? I'll just go tell them what you tried to do last night…"

"You wouldn't!" Harry exclaimed.

"Oh, but I would." The Blonde said, "You need to talk to someone about this and I'm gonna make damn sure that you do. Now you can either tell me what the hell's going on with you or I can go down and tell the Weasels and Lupin what you did last night. Either way, you will talk to someone about this." Draco held Harry's gaze, letting him know just how serious he was.

The Gryffindor sighed deeply before sagging dejectedly against the pillows, "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you try to kill yourself? What exactly was going on in that head of yours?" Draco asked.

Harry stared off into space for a few minutes. He was quiet for so long that Draco thought he would have to ask him again. "I did it because I'm tired. I'm tired of everyone expecting me to do something that I can't possibly do on my own. I'm tired of losing people, of people dying, of people staring and pointing at me. So many people have died because of me; my parents, Cedric, Sirius…I'm famous for something I don't even remember…And now I find out that I either have to kill or be killed. All because of some stupid 'prophecy' that Trelawny spouted off years ago. It doesn't even matter if I believe the damn thing or not because Voldemort and Dumbledore both obviously do. So, the entire Wizarding world expects me to save them and kill Voldemort. All by myself. No one else bothers to get off their fat lazy arses to help. How do they expect me to beat him? Cause I'm so sure I'll last real long by throwing Tickling Jinxs and Bat Bogey Hexs at him while he's tossing _Crucio_s and Killing Curses at me. And Dumbledore! As far as he's concerned I'm just a pawn. Someone to be moved around as he sees fit. He doesn't care about me, just so long as he has his weapon. Everyone either expects me to kill Voldemort or they expect him to kill me. To them, I'm just The-Boy-Who-Lived, Weapon of the Light, destined to either kill or be killed by the Dark Lord. I decided that I didn't want anyone else to die because of me, that I didn't want anyone but me deciding my 'destiny.' So, I took my life out of their hands and into my own." Harry explained, glancing back at Draco as he finished.

"Wow. I get what you mean. That's a lot to deal with, but what about your friends? What about the Weasel, Weaslette and the Mud – um, Bookworm?" The blonde asked.

"What about them? Ron's always been insanely jealous of me. Because I have fame, power, and money. Most of the time I feel like he just hangs around me so that he can have the title of being the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione's got her nose so buried in her books its not even funny. And she puts way too much stock in what authority figures tell her, if Dumbledore told her to betray me – for the greater good, of course – I have very little doubt that she would do it. Authority figures are like gods to her. And Ginny was always more of a best-friend's-little-sister to me. She was there occasionally because she's Ron's sister. And up until this past year she's always kinda creeped me out with that crush she had on me and her always following me around, thank Merlin she finally got over that…But, seriously, I have been sneaking out of bed to the attic to get drunk every night for the past week and no one but you has noticed. Now tell me, does that sound like the way a guy's best friends should act?" Harry replied, then under his breath he added, "Should've listened to the stupid Hat, probably would have done better in Slytherin."

Draco's eyes widened as he heard Harry's muttered comment, "The Hat wanted to put you into Slytherin!?!" He exclaimed. "How the hell did you end up in Gryffindor, then?"

"I begged the damn thing to put me anywhere but Slytherin. It said that I had a thirst to prove myself and that I could be great, that Slytherin would help me on my way to greatness. But by that point I had already been told by quite a few people that Slytherin was the _Evil_ House. Hagrid told me that Voldemort was in Slytherin, Ron told me that only evil Wizards came out of Slytherin, and you were a git. It all pretty much added up to me wanting nothing to do with Slytherin House. It wasn't until later that I learned the truth; Slytherins aren't evil, they're just sly, cunning, and ambitious. Being a Slytherin doesn't automatically make someone Evil. Just like being a Gryffindor doesn't automatically make someone Good. Hell, Peter Pettigrew is a perfect example of that." Harry told the blonde. "So, are you going to tell Remus and the Weasleys about last night?"

Draco studied the other boy for a few minutes before slowly shaking his head. "No, I won't tell them. On the condition that you don't try something like that again. If you need to talk, I'm willing to listen. And I don't want you drinking by yourself anymore. If you wanna keep drinkin' every night, that's fine with me, but I'm gonna be up there with you to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Agreed?"

"Agreed. So does this mean we have a truce, Malfoy?" Harry questioned, holding out a hand toward the Slytherin laying next to him.

Draco nodded, "Truce. And call me Draco." He said and reached out to shake the Gryffindor's hand.

"Call me Harry, then." Harry replied, and then sighed as he sat up all the way. "Well, I'd better get back to my room before Ron wakes up and realizes I'm not there. Hopefully I have a long sleeved shirt that I can wear to cover these things." He said gesturing vaguely to the bandages on his arms.

Draco slid out of the bed and made his way to the closet. "I have a shirt you can use. Just a second."

Harry's eyes watched the blonde as he crossed the room, taking in the pale expanse of skin, black boxers slung low on narrow hips. He watched as muscles rippled gently as the other boy moved, noting the light, fading scars on his back left over from Draco's refusal of the Mark. He shook himself and blinked a couple times as he caught himself staring, shifting his gaze back down to the bed he was still sitting on. _'What the hell am I doing? Staring at Malfoy?!'_ Harry thought to himself,_ 'No, not just staring, I was checking him out! Well, that's it, Hell has officially frozen over! Harry Potter was checking out Draco Malfoy…And finding him incredibly attractive! Lucifer, get your ice skates! Merlin, I have issues! Great, not only am I apparently attracted to blokes, but I'm attracted to Draco Bloody Malfoy! This is just-'_ Harry was pulled out of his thoughts as something soft smacked him in the face. He pulled the fabric away to see a long sleeved black shirt.

"There, that should work. The sleeves are long enough that they'll probably cover all but the tips of your fingers and it's loose enough that no one will be able to tell that you have your arms bandaged, but not so loose as to slide down if you raise your arms. So the bandages should be pretty well covered." Draco told him.

"Thanks, Mal – Draco." Harry said as he pulled the shirt on before getting out of the bed and making his way toward the door. "I'll see you later." And with that he slipped out into the hallway and back to the room he shared with Ron to find some pants for the day.

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**Well, what do you think? This is my first try at slash, so please be gentle. I asked everyone who reviewed if they thought that this should be slash and everyone who replied said yes, so I really hope that all of you like it and aren't too disappointed.**

**Let me know what you think about the possibility of Harry being re-Sorted, or if he should just be an honorary Slytherin.**

**And would you like to see any secondary pairings? How should the Slytherins react to Harry and Draco being friends? Should Blaise (as a guy) and Pansy be friends or foes? If friends, do you want them paired with anyone? What about Neville and Luna? Friends or foes? Narcissa, good or evil? Sirius, dead for good or just lost beyond the Veil?**

**Sorry about all the questions but, like I said before, I didn't really plan on writing more than one chapter, and Harry was going to die. So I don't really know where this is going right now. And I seriously value your input.**

**Anywho, I hope ya'll liked this chapter. Please, please, please let me know what you think, the good, the bad, constructive criticism, it's all welcome!**

**How quickly I update depends on the number of reviews I get, because like I said, I have no clue where this is going right now. Ideas will be much appreciated!**

**Oh and incase anyone cares, this chapter was 5 pages and 2,086 words.**

**Until Next Time,**

**Kyra**


	3. Breakfast

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used in chapter 1 is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, mostly just hints of it for now.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Chapter 3: **

Harry quietly slipped back into the room he shared with Ron and gently closed the door behind him. Glancing over he made sure that Ron was still sound asleep, the sound of the redhead's snoring reassuring him that he wouldn't be questioned by his 'friend.' Harry quickly made his way over to the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a belt. He pulled the jeans on and pulled the belt tight, disgusted that he had to wrap the belt around himself twice to get it to fit. _'Note to self: Buy new clothes, ones that actually fit.'_ Harry thought to himself before shrugging slightly, _'Well, at least my shirt fits today.'_ He pulled on a pair of socks and his ratty shoes and made his way back to the door and downstairs to find some breakfast.

As he entered the kitchen Harry noticed that Draco had dressed in black slacks and a grey sweater and was already sitting at the table quietly eating. Harry slid into the seat across from the blonde and smiled slightly as Mrs. Weasley placed a plate in front of him and proceeded to pile it high with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast then poured him a glass of pumpkin juice. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry murmured as he took a bite of the eggs. "Morning, Draco." He said with a slight nod to the other boy.

Draco glanced up at Harry and returned the nod, "Morning."

"Harry dear, this came for you this morning." Mrs. Weasley said as she placed a thick parchment envelope on the table in front of Harry, not noticing the exchange between the boys. "Oh, and there was one for you as well, Mr. Malfoy." She added, placing another envelope on the table, this time in front of Draco.

Both boys murmured a quick 'thank you' as they stared at the envelopes and Mrs. Weasley turned back to the stove. "These are our OWL results, aren't they?" Harry questioned sparing a quick glance at Draco.

The blonde nodded, "That would be my guess." He replied, not taking his eyes off his envelope.

"I guess we'd best get this over with, huh?" Harry asked as he slowly opened the envelope and looking at the contents, vaguely aware that Draco was doing the same thing.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley spoke up startling the two boys as they had forgotten that she was even in the room, "Don't keep me in suspense, what did you get?"

Harry answered first. "Um, I got a D in History of Magic, a P in Divination, an A in Astronomy, E's in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration and an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh, Harry Dear, that's wonderful! Seven OWLs, that's more than Fred and George got together!" Mrs. Weasley gushed, giving Harry a tight hug. "Well, how did you do, Mr. Malfoy?" She questioned.

Draco looked slightly surprised that the red-haired woman would even care to know his scores. "Oh, um, seven Owls as well, pretty much the same scores as Harry. Except that I got an O in Potions, an E in Defense, an A in Magical Creatures, and a P in History."

"That's pretty good, Draco, though I can't say I'm surprised about your Potions score." Harry said.

"Harry's right, Mr. Malfoy. You did very well." Mrs. Weasley said as she made her way back over to the stove again.

A few minutes later Ron stumbled into the kitchen, followed much more gracefully by Hermione and Ginny. Draco was the only one who noticed that Harry's expression darkened a bit at the sight of the three of them. Ron flopped down in the seat on Harry's right, Hermione taking the seat on the other side of Ron and Ginny taking the seat on Harry's left.

"Here you three go," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed a plate of food in front of each of the newcomers as well as a Hogwarts letter for each of them.

Hermione stared at her letter in something akin to horror. "Oh no! Oh no! These are my OWL results! Oh, I just can't look at them! I just know that I've failed everything!" She practically wailed.

Her reaction caused Harry and Draco both to snort, though they both quickly covered it with a cough. Ron glared at Draco while reaching over to pat Harry on the back, thinking that Harry had somehow managed to choke on his food. "Oh, sod off, Malfoy! I bet you Hermione did better than you did!" He exclaimed.

Draco merely raised a brow, "I don't doubt that she did. You see, I actually have a life _outside_ of the library. I don't live and breathe books like she does. So, honestly I won't be surprised to find out that she got more OWLs than me." He stated.

Harry hid a small smile behind his napkin, though he couldn't stop his amusement from showing in his eyes. He cleared his throat a bit to make sure he wouldn't laugh before turning to Hermione, "So, how did you do?" He asked.

Hermione stared at her results, "I – Not bad." She said.

Ron snorted as he looked over shoulder, "'Not bad' she says. She got ten O's and an E in Defense." He stated.

Draco smirked at Harry, "See, I knew she'd do better than me."

Harry smirked back at the blonde. Moments later his attention was pulled away by the sound of Mrs. Weasley's voice.

"Well, Ron, hurry up and open yours, I want to know how you did." She said, standing behind her youngest son.

Ron paled drastically and slowly opened his results. He quickly scanned his results and let out a bit of a relieved sigh. Only failed Divination and History and who really cares about those anyway?" He said, showing his results to Harry and then his mother.

Harry gave the parchment a quick glance and was unsurprised to see that there were no O's on it.

"Oh, seven OWLs, I'm so proud of you Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley gushed before pulling her son into a tight hug causing Ginny to roll her eyes and Draco to pretend to gag, which in turn caused Harry snicker.

After Mrs. Weasley had let go of Ron Harry turned to look at her. "Mrs. Weasley," He started, "I was wondering if we could go to Diagon Alley today and get our supplies? And maybe Muggle London as well, I need new clothes."

"Oh, can we, Mum? Please? This house is so depressing and I think we could all use the fresh air. And Muggle London sounds like it could be fun. Please, Mum?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know," Mrs. Weasley hesitated, "I think it's too dangerous. If you children will give me your letters, I can go pick up your supplies for you, though."

"No offense, Mrs. Weasley, but it's not going to get any less dangerous and I'm tired of sitting around in this house all the time, it's depressing, it's dark, and it does nothing but remind me of Sirius. I need to get out of this house, even if it's only for one day. And if you want, I'll even let you put a glamour on me for while we're in the Alley, but I refuse to wear one in Muggle London. I highly doubt that we'll run into any Death Eaters in there, what with them hating Muggles and all. I need new clothes, which means that I need to go shopping." Harry argued.

"Harry Dear, I'm sorry but it's too dangerous, if you need new clothes then I can pick some up for you when I get your supplies." Mrs. Weasley said, a sympathetic look on her face.

Harry scowled at Mrs. Weasley, "No, you won't. I'm going to go to Diagon Alley and get my supplies myself and I am going to go to Muggle London and get some new clothes." He stated, voice flat and tight with barely controlled anger. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were looking back and forth between Harry and the Weasley matriarch nervously while Draco just watched the two with amusement.

A look of frustration and anger crossed Mrs. Weasley's face, "Now, Harry, I won't have you speaking to me like that. It is too dangerous and I will not allow you to-"

"You won't allow me? You have no say in what I am and am not _allowed_ to do. No offense Mrs. Weasley, but you are _not_ my mother. Nor are you my guardian; he's dead, remember?" Harry spat, "Now, I will be going to London. I will be going to Diagon Alley. And nothing you or anyone else says will change my mind. And don't even think of trying to get Dumbledore to tell me that its forbidden for me to go, I don't give a flying rat's arse what that man thinks at this point in time! Also, he _can't_ forbid me from going, he's not my father or my guardian. He's my headmaster and well, I'm not at school right now, am I? I'm going, whether you like it or not. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get my stuff." With that Harry grabbed his supply list and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving behind a wide-eyed Mrs. Weasley, three very stunned Gryffindors and a chuckling Slytherin.

A few minutes later, Draco stood and picked up his supply list, "Well…I'm off to get ready," He said as he turned toward the door.

Mrs. Weasley snapped her attention to the blonde, shaking off a bit of her shock at Harry's outburst. "Ready? Ready for what?" She questioned looking quite confused.

Draco smirked at her before heading out the door, his reply drifting over his shoulder as he left the room, "Why, to go to Diagon Alley and Muggle London, of course."

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**Well, what did you guys think? I wrote this in several sittings instead of just one like normal, so if things don't quite flow right, that's why. Also, if you notice any mistakes please let me know so that I can fix them.**

**Anywho, please, please, please, please, please leave a review! I really wanna know what you guys think. If I don't get feedback then I think that no one likes it and if I think that no one likes it then I get depressed don't feel like writing and if I don't feel like writing then I have nothing to post and if I have nothing to post then there aren't any updates! So, **_**pleeeeaaasssse**_** leave a review, pretty, pretty please!!!!! See, I'm even begging here!**

**Also, if anyone cares, this chapter was 1,650 words long.  
****  
Until Next Time,**

**Kyra**


	4. Preparing For Diagon Alley

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used in chapter 1 is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, mostly just hints of it for now.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Chapter 4: Preparing For Diagon Alley**

Draco walked into Harry's room and had to immediately duck as a shoe came flying across the room. "Whoa! Watch where you're throwing that shit, you almost took my head off!" Draco exclaimed.

Harry paused in his task of emptying his trunk via throwing it across the room and looked up to see Draco leaning against the door jam. "Oh, sorry. Didn't hear you come in." He apologized with a shrug and turned back to his trunk. He continued throwing stuff over his shoulder, though not quite as hard so that it wouldn't fly far enough to hit Draco.

Draco lightly pushed off the wall and carefully made his way over to Harry's bed. Once there he laid down on his stomach with his head at the foot of the bed so that he was facing Harry, though all he could see over the top of the Gryffindor's trunk was a messy mop of black hair. "So, what exactly are you doing? Other than trying to cause unsuspecting people bodily harm that is?" He asked curiously.

Harry glanced up real quick as he gently set his photo album next to him before digging back into his trunk. "Emptying this thing out. Most of the stuff I own is a hand-me-down from the Dursleys. Mostly Dudley's old clothes and Uncle Vernon's old socks, a couple pairs of Dudley's old shoes, stuff like that. And after today I'll have my own clothes and shit and won't need this garbage. I have big plans for this crap. There, that's the last of it!" He said, a large tent-like shirt flying over his shoulder to land with the rest of the stuff he had thrown out. He quickly and carefully placed what was left of his belongings - his invisibility cloak, photo album, the Firebolt he had gotten from Sirius, the Marauders' Map, old school books, and robes – back into the trunk and closed the lid.

"Plans? What kind of plans?" Draco asked, looking at the pile of clothes skeptically, trying to find out just what the other boy could possibly plan on doing with them.

Harry gave him a mysterious smile, mischief dancing in his eyes, "You'll see," he replied as he kicked the clothes into a corner. "So, are you coming to Diagon and Muggle London with me?" He asked as they made their way out of the room and towards the front hall.

The blonde smirked, "Of course, how else can I be sure that you don't end up buying more rags? Plus it'll really piss Weasel and the Bookwork off to have me there."

Harry laughed a bit at that. "You have a point, Ron and Hermione will be pissed. The only bad part of that is that we'll have to listen to Ron bitch about it the whole time. And I don't think I'd do too bad picking out my own clothes, thank you very much! Though speaking of clothes, thanks again for letting me borrow this." He said, motioning towards the black shirt he was still wearing.

"No problem. It looks good on you." Draco said looking Harry over. _'Really good!'_ he thought as he took in the way the shirt fell on Harry's frame, slightly loose because of Harry's slighter build but still much better fitting than anything else he had ever seen the boy in outside of robes. As he realized his thoughts he shook his head slightly. "I'm a bit surprised that no one noticed you were wearing a shirt that actually fit, though. Especially with discussion about you needing clothes that fit."

Harry snorted, "Yeah, like they'd notice a shirt that fits when they haven't noticed that I've been getting drunk every night for the past week."

"Good point," The blonde nodded as the two of them stepped off the stairs and into the entrance hall.

The boys looked up to see Molly, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Remus Lupin and Tonks standing there talking amongst themselves. Both boys quickly noticed that the group was blocking the way to the door. They glanced at each other, wondering if the adults were going to try and tell them that they couldn't go. Harry cleared his throat loudly causing everyone to look towards him and the Slytherin next to him. "Excuse us, but you're in our way." He stated coolly.

"Hello, Harry. Mr. Malfoy," Remus greeted. "How are you boys today? Harry, Molly was just telling us that you and Mr. Malfoy wanted to go into Diagon Alley and Muggle London today. And that she doesn't think that you should be allowed, that it's too dangerous. Hermione agrees with her. Ron wants to go to Diagon but not Muggle London and doesn't want Mr. Malfoy to go with. And Ginny agrees with the two of you completely."

"Really? Well, isn't that interesting? But you're still in our way." Harry replied, his voice still cool, though he sent a glare Ron and Hermione's ways.

"Now, Harry Dear, it's just too dangerous. You can't –" Mrs. Weasley started only to be cut off by Harry.

"I thought I made my thoughts on this clear, Mrs. Weasley. You are not my mother and therefore have no say in what I can and can not do! I'm going!" The raven-haired boy practically growled out.

"Oh, come on, Mum! Harry already consented to wearing a glamour in the Alley! Why can't you just let him go?" Ginny exclaimed glaring at her mother.

"Ginny!" Hermione sounded scandalized that Ginny would talk back to her mother that way. "Your mother is right. It's much too dangerous for Harry to leave the house!"

Tonks stood there watching the argument with wide eyes, not having any desire to get involved.

"He needs out of this house, Hermione! This place is freakin' depressing! I think it's depressing and I barely even knew Sirius! It has to be a million times more depressing to Harry! He needs a day out of here! We all do! It's just one day, we'll be back at Hogwarts in two weeks." Ginny retorted. "And, Ron, Malfoy can come if he wants! He's not evil! I think the condition he arrived here in is enough proof of that! If you have a problem with him going then you can just say here! You know what? If you think it's so dangerous then why don't you stay here too, Hermione?"

Harry and Draco both blinked at her a few times before sharing a quick glance and returning to staring at the youngest Weasley in surprise. Neither of them had expected her to come to their defense so fiercely.

Ron angrily opened his mouth to yell back but was cut off by Remus once again making his presence known.

"I am in agreement with Harry, Mr. Malfoy, and Ginny." Remus said, raising his voice a bit so that everybody would hear him. "Harry has been cooped up in this house for the past two weeks and I think it would do him some good to get out for a day, the same goes for the rest of you."

"But –" Hermione started.

"Hermione, I am in agreement with Ginny. If you think it is too dangerous, then stay here. We can get your supplies for you. The same applies to you, Ron, concerning Mr. Malfoy. If you have a problem with him going, stay here. I don't want to put up with bickering all day." Remus said.

Mrs. Weasley looked slightly shocked. "Remus! You can't honestly be thinking about allowing them to leave the house! It's too dangerous, I tell you!" She cried indignantly.

At this point Tonks tentatively spoke up. "Actually, Molly, if they use glamours, it really shouldn't be too dangerous. And Remus and I will be there in case anything does happen. Besides, Harry does have a point…You _aren't_ his mum or his guardian so you have no say over what he does. Same goes for Draco. Actually if anyone had any say over what Draco did it would be me since I'm his older cousin. And I don't mind if he goes, so long as he uses a glamour and behaves. Not that I actually have any say over what he does, but still. The only ones that you can actually forbid from going are Ron and Ginny, but I don't think you should. They need a day out of this house." The currently purple-haired metamorphmagus said.

The Weasley Matriarch huffed, "Fine. Go! But you are all wearing glamours!"

Harry and Draco both rolled their eyes. "Right, because we _so_ wanted her permission!" Draco mumbled under his breath causing Harry to snort lightly. Remus sent him a sharp look, having heard his comment because of his werewolf hearing. Draco just gave him an innocent look in return.

"Well, I'm not going!" Hermione declared. "It's too dangerous and I don't think any of you should go either!"

"What about you, Ron? Are you staying here or going with?" Tonks asked.

"I'm staying here if the Ferret goes with," He replied looking at Harry like he expected Harry say that Draco couldn't go.

Harry merely shrugged, "Guess you're staying here then."

"Well, I'm definitely going," Ginny said as her brother looked at Harry in shock before stalking up the stairs, Hermione close behind him.

"So, who's doing the glamours?" Draco asked looking between Remus and Tonks.

"Remus will," Tonks said, "I'm not real great at them since I don't need to use them."

"Alright, why don't I start with you, Mr. Malfoy?" Remus questioned, "Any preference on how you'd like to look?"

"Um, how about messy, brown hair – about two and a half inches long - intense hazel eyes, and a bit of a tan?" Draco said questioningly.

Remus nodded and pulled out his wand, a quick spell later and a very different looking Draco Malfoy was standing in front of them.

"Alright, Ginny, your turn, what do you want to look like?" Remus asked turning towards the redhead.

"Let's see here…Let's go with longish blonde hair, blue eyes and a bit of a tan as well." She replied.

Remus nodded and moments later the spell was done. "Alright, Harry, what are we doing for you?"

"I want blonde hair just past the nape of my neck, with the front of my hair long enough that I can tuck it behind my ear and really blue eyes." Harry described what he wanted.

"Alright," Remus said and once again performed the spell. Once he was done with Harry he turned his wand on himself and changed his own appearance. In the place of a man with messy, short brown hair, amber eyes and facial stubble there was now a man with a clean-shaven face, brown eyes, and chin-length black hair with red highlights who looked about 10 years younger than Remus. "Okay, all we need now are new names and we're ready to go. I'll be Ash."

"Taryn," Ginny said.

"I'll be Apollo," Draco said.

"And I'm Hunter, Taryn's older brother." Harry stated.

"Hey, did you guys forget about me?" Tonks questioned and the others turned to look at her. She now had long brown hair, brown eyes and a tan. She gave a bright grin and 'introduced' herself, "My name's Artemis and I'm Apollo's older sister."

Remus smiled at her and looked over the others. "Well, it looks like we're ready. What do you think Molly? Do you think anyone will suspect that the five of us are who we are?" He asked as he turned to Mrs. Weasley who had stood off to the side and watched as the glamours were applied.

Molly looked over the five of them before grudgingly admitting, "No, I don't think anyone will suspect. Even so, you lot be careful! No go, before I change my mind." That said, she spun around and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Come on, we have to floo to the Leaky Cauldron," Remus said as he lead the others into the sitting room and towards the fireplace. "Alright, Tonks – er, I mean Artemis will go through first, then Apollo, Taryn, Hunter and myself."

Tonks quickly threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace, stepped in, called out "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared in a flash of green flames. After a few minutes Draco followed her. Ginny stepped up to the fireplace and took some floo powder but paused before throwing it in and turned to Harry.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Harry, I like that shirt. It looks really good on you!" With that she tossed the floo powder into the fire, stepped in, shouted "Diagon Alley!" and was gone in a flash of green flames.

Harry blinked at the place where Ginny had been for a moment before shaking himself and reaching out for the floo powder. _'Maybe she's not too bad,_' He thought. He was stopped just before he threw the powder by Remus's voice.

"She's right, you know. That shirt does look good on you. I'm guessing its on loan from Mr. Malfoy?" He said.

Harry just nodded and threw the powder into the flames and stepped in. "Diagon Alley!" He said and moments later he tumbled out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, stumbling into Draco as he exited. He quickly grabbed on to the blonde-turned-temporarily-brunette so that he wouldn't fall to the floor. Draco's arms wrapped around Harry to help steady him. Once the Gryffindor finally had his footing he slowly loosened his hold on Draco, breathing in deeply before stepping back. _'Merlin, he smells good! Wait! Bad, bad Harry! No sniffing of the Malfoy!'_ He thought, taking an extra step back so that he wouldn't be tempted to breathe in the other boy's scent again.

Draco reluctantly let his arms fall from around Harry's waist as the other boy stepped back. When Harry had stumbled into Draco he had gaped at the unexpected impact, getting a lungful of Harry's scent in the process. _'Wow, he smells delicious..._' He thought. Anything else that he may have thought was interrupted by the arrival of the last member of their group as Remus stepped out of the fireplace, the now-brown eyes glancing around making sure that everyone had made it okay.

Harry cleared his throat slightly, "Well, everyone's here so…Shopping!" He exclaimed, an excited gleam in his now-bright-blue eyes and a grin on his face, "Let's go!" He quickly grabbed Ginny's hand and started pulling her toward the back door of the Cauldron. "Come on, 'Sis!' Time to shop!"

Draco smirked and chuckled as he watched his new friend drag the now-blonde Weasley out the back door towards the entrance to Diagon Alley.

Remus merely shook his head in amusement before offering his arm to Tonks who giggled and looped her arm through his.

The three of them made it out back just as the entrance to Diagon Alley finished opening.

Harry was practically bouncing in place as he once more grabbed Ginny's hand and started pulling her away. He glanced back over his shoulder at the others with a grin, "Come on, let's go! Places to go, people to see…Things to buy!" And with that he was headed off down the Alley, pulling a laughing Ginny along behind him.

Draco watched them in amusement for a moment before turning to Remus and Tonks, "Well, looks like it's time to shop!" He said and took off after the others, throwing his arm over Harry's shoulder once he caught up with them. "So, Gringott's first?" The adults heard him ask.

The two adults shared an amused glance as the headed after the three teens, keeping them well within their line of sight but not worrying too much about catching up to them at the moment. "Oh yeah, they definitely needed this," Tonks stated.

Remus merely nodded as the two of them trailed after the teens, _'Yes,'_ He thought, _'They definitely needed this.'_

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**Yay! Another chapter done! Please don't hate me for leaving it there! I have a pretty good idea of how the shopping trips will go but I didn't want all of it to go in this chapter or else it would take me forever to update again. It still might take me at least a couple weeks if not longer to update again after this one. Also, a major reason I decided to end it here is that it's 1:30 in the morning and I started working on this chapter at noon! I didn't even stop to eat; I stopped to make my food but ate while typing!**

**Oh, if anyone wants to see what I had in mind for the finished effect on the glamours check out these pics:**

**For Harry/Hunter I used is Chris Jericho, a former WWE Supertar – **

**http:// fozzy rock . com / Chris commentary . htm**

**For Draco/Apollo I used Drew Fuller who played Chris Halliwell on Charmed –**

**http:// charmed ones world . com / Drew Fuller 1000204 . JPG**

**For Remus/Ash I used Criss Angel, a magician/illusionist –**

**http:// www . flickr . com / photos / streetmagic / 431361026 /**

**For Ginny/Taryn I used Lilian Garcia, the WWE Raw ring announcer –**

**http:// www . body slamming . com / wwe / lilian . html**

**And for Tonks/Artemis I used Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia on Buffy and Angel – http:// buffy gallery . free servers . com / cgi-bin / i / Cordelia . jpg**

**So, if you wanna know what I had in mind for their glamour appearances check those out. Just copy and paste the addresses into your address bar and remove the spaces. **

**And if anyone cares, this chapter was 7 pages and 2,651 words long, about 1,000 words longer than the last one and the longest chapter in the story so far! Yay!**

**Anyway, please, please, please review and let me know what you think!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Kyra**


	5. Shopping In Diagon

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used in chapter 1 is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, mostly just hints of it for now.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Chapter 5: Shopping In Diagon**

Remus and Tonks caught up to the three teens outside of Gringotts. All five of them entered the bank, talking about how much they would need to withdraw to cover their shopping. "Well, we need enough for your school supplies, as well as Ron and Hermione's and however much you want for shopping in Muggle London," Remus stated as the made their way to the counter and an available goblin.

Ginny looked down a bit, her now blonde hair falling to curtain her face, "I'll just get enough for me an Ron's school stuff and window shop in London," She said.

"You know," Draco started, "It's actually a really good thing my father's in Azkaban, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to access my vaults anymore."

Harry looked at Draco curiously, "How do you know your mother hasn't had you banned from using the vault?" He asked.

"Because, Ha- Hunter, my mother never wanted me to be a Death Eater. I highly doubt she'd block me from the vaults for refusing to join." The currently brunette boy explained.

Harry nodded but didn't reply as they had reached the counter. Remus quickly stepped up and spoke to the goblin. "We need to make a few withdraws. Each from different vaults." He said.

The goblin looked at the group of them closely. "Alright, Sir, do you have the keys? Also, what would you like for me to refer to you as? I'm assuming that since all of you, except for the elder miss, are wearing glamours that you don't want anyone to realize who you are?" The goblin questioned, though it was more of a statement.

"Uh, yes, you would be correct in that assumption. Please, just call me Ash. And this is Hunter and his younger sister Taryn," He said gesturing to Harry and Ginny, "And Apollo and his older sister Artemis." He motioned to Draco and Tonks.

The goblin nodded, "Of course, Mr. Ash. Now, the keys?"

Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out three keys, "These are the keys for my own vault, Taryn's vault and for that of Hermione Granger."

Tonks stepped up and handed the goblin her key, "Most of what I withdraw will be exchanged for Muggle currency, though." She told the goblin who nodded his understanding.

"That won't be a problem, Miss Artemis." He stated.

Draco handed over his key, "I'm assuming that I still have access to my vaults?" He questioned.

"Yes, sir. In fact your mother has set up a separate vault for your use as well. Though she has stated that you are to you the family vaults unless you are unable to get access."

Draco nodded and looked to Harry, waiting for him to hand over his key.

The currently blonde boy looked at Remus curiously, "Re- Ash, I don't have my key. The headmaster had it before I started at Hogwarts, Hagrid had it my first year, and I'm assuming that Mrs. Weasley has had it every year since then as she's the one who's bought my things for me nearly every year. I've never been given my key. Hell, I don't think I've ever even touched the damn thing!" He said.

Tonks stared at Harry for a moment, "Nobody's ever given you your key? _Any_ of your keys?" She asked, shocked.

Harry looked even more confused, "What do you mean 'any' of my keys? There's only just the one, isn't there?" He asked, looking back and forth between Remus, Tonks and the Goblin.

The goblin's eyes widen. "You can't be serious, Mr. Po- er, Hunter. Your parents left you quite a bit of gold. Your family is one of the richest in our world. You have multiple vaults, of that I can assure you, especially when you take into consideration what was left to you by your Godfather." He stated.

"What? I thought I only had one! Nobody's ever told me that I had more than one." Harry stated.

"Right then, one moment please." The goblin said before disappearing behind the counter and down a hall. A few moments later he returned, another goblin following him. The first goblin gestured to the second, "This is Ragnok, he is a Gringotts manager. Ragnok, the young Master here," He gestured to Harry, "Was under the impression that he has only one vault and has never been in possession of the key to the vault he was aware of."

Ragnok looked Harry over, his gaze pausing on the scar he could see through the glamour. "Really? Well, now, that is unacceptable. We have a couple of options for what we can do. First, we can head back to my office and I can have someone bring me your account records and we can go over them. Or I can get you keys to each of your vaults and we can sit down at a later time. Which would you like to do?" He asked.

Harry thought for a moment before looking at Ragnok curiously. "If the Headmaster had a key to the vault I've been using, then he probably has a key to the others, right?" He asked. At Ragnok's nod he continued, "Would it be possible then, for me to have the locks on all of my vaults changed and get a set of the new keys for myself so that I will be the only person with access to them? I would like to go over my account at some point, just not today; we have quite a bit of shopping planned."

Ragnok nodded. "Of course, young Master. We can have that done at once. If you and your companions would like to go ahead and make your withdraws and exchange whatever you need to, we should have your new keys for you by the time you are done. If that is okay?"

Harry glanced at the others before replying, "Yes, that sounds good. When should I come back to go over my account?"

"If you are available, I can schedule a meeting with you for 11 a.m. a week from today. That would give us enough time to get all of your records together and in order. Does that work for you?"

Harry shrugged, "That should be fine. I will be sure to be here."

"Alright. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and your keys will be waiting for you when you are done with your business." Ragnok nodded to Harry and then once to the others as a group and headed back the way he came.

"If you'll follow me." The first goblin said as it lead them off to the rail carts that lead to the vaults.

Six stops and thirty minutes later the group staggered back into the main room of the bank and back to the counter to pick up Harry's keys and exchange some of their money for Muggle currency.

"Alright, here are your keys, Mr. Hunter. And how much would all of you like to convert to Muggle currency?" The goblin asked, handing Harry a ring of keys with nearly twenty keys on it.

Draco's eyes widened at the sight, "Great Merlin, Hunter! There must be nearly twenty keys on there! My family only has maybe half that many vaults!" The blonde-turned-brunette exclaimed.

"I believe that the reason there are so many is that those are the keys to not only his family's vaults but to the ones that were left to him by his Godfather," Remus said, looking at the goblin for confirmation.

"That is correct. Now, how much of this do you want converted?" The goblin asked.

Tonks quickly spoke up, "I want all but ten galleons converted."

"About twenty galleons for me," Remus said, handing over his pouch of money.

"None for me," Ginny said, once again letting her temporarily blonde hair curtain her face.

Draco shrugged, "About 100 galleons, I guess."

"200 galleons, please." Harry said.

The goblin nodded and removed the proper amounts of money from the pouches and replacing it with Muggle currency.

Once their business was finished they left, Harry making a mental note to be back in one week to go over his accounts with Ragnok.

All five blinked rapidly as they stepped outside of the bank into the bright mid-morning sun.

"Where to first?" Tonks asked, looking at the teens.

"I need to get some treats for Hedwig, so why don't we start at the Magical Menagerie?" Harry suggested, "Its right next door."

There were murmurs of agreement from the others so they headed next door. Harry and Draco both headed right for the owl treats while Ginny, Remus and Tonks browsed around the shop. After paying for the treats the two boys headed over to join the others. Ginny and Tonks were currently cooing at a tiny kitten in a cage. It was a light beige color with black spots, large paws and ears, and a short tail. Ginny looked up as the boys approached. "Aw, Hunter, isn't she adorable?" She questioned, flashing a grin at them.

Harry leaned closer to the cage to get a better look, "She really is, Taryn. I wonder what she is. She doesn't look like a normal cat, but she doesn't quite look like a Kneazle either."

Draco nodded, "I agree. I'm not sure what she is."

As the others focused their attention on the kitten once more Harry quietly slipped away and back to the front of the store. "Excuse me," He said, catching the attention of the woman behind the counter and gesturing towards his friends and the kitten they were looking at, "But I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of kitten that is and how much she costs."

The woman glanced toward the group then back at Harry. "She's part Kneazle, part Lynx, mostly Lynx though. I can give her to ya for ten galleons." She said.

Harry nodded and pulled out his money pouch. "What kind of stuff does she eat? And is there anything else we'll need for her?" He asked.

"Well, right now she's still young enough that she's drinking formula, but she'll be able to eat solids here in about a week. At that point she'll eat normal Kneazle food and small animals such as rabbits, foxes and rodents. She'll get to be about 3 feet long and around two feet tall at the shoulder and weigh around forty pounds when she's full grown. You'll probably want to get a food a water dish, some Kneazle food for later, some formula for now, a kennel for her to travel in and possibly sleep in, and a litter box for until she's big enough to go outside." The woman told him.

"Okay, my friends and I have a lot of shopping left to do today, some of it in Muggle London; is there anyway that I can go ahead and pay and then pick everything up later this evening?" Harry questioned.

The woman smiled, "Sure thing, it just cost an extra five knuts for us to hold her here for ya. If you wanna do that then it'll come out to twenty-two galleons, eight sickles and seven knuts."

Harry quickly counted out the money and handed it over. "We'll be back to pick her and the stuff up later. Oh, and this is kind of a surprise for my sister, so could you maybe gather the stuff for me and not mention anything to her?"

"That's so sweet," The woman grinned, "No problem, hun. You just come and pick her up before you head home tonight and I'll have all of the supplies shrunk and in a bag for you as well."

Harry nodded at her, "Thanks, I really appreciate it." And with a quick smile he turned and headed back over to his friends. "Well, are you guys ready? We still have to get our supplies and go to Muggle London." He said looking at them.

Remus nodded, "Of course, we should get going."

They all left the shop, Ginny and Tonks both quite reluctantly.

"So, why don't you kids go to Madam Malkin's and get fitted for your robes and Remus and I will go get your books? We can all meet up at Florean's for ice cream when we're done then stop at the Apothecary on our way back to the Leaky Cauldron then head on to Muggle London. Sound good?" Tonks asked.

Draco and Ginny nodded.

"Sounds good," Harry said, "But could you guys get me some books on Occlumency, Potions and Advanced DADA while you're in there?"

"Sure thing, Hunter," Remus replied with a smile, "We'll see you kids in a bit."

With that the group split up, Harry, Draco, and Ginny going into Madam Malkin's and Remus and Tonks continuing on to Flourish and Blott's next door.

Once in the robe shop Draco insisted that Harry and Ginny both get fitted properly for their robes instead of trying on the robes on the racks. Ginny protested, saying that she couldn't afford new, custom fit robes. Draco simply waved her protests away saying that he'd pay the difference as a thank you for siding with him and Harry that morning. After Ginny had been fitted for robes and her order placed, Harry stepped up to get measured while Ginny went to pick out robes for Ron and Hermione from the racks. A short while later Harry and Draco had finished being fitted and ordering their robes. Ginny placed the robes for Ron and Hermione on the counter and Madam Malkin rang them all up. They quickly paid arranged to pick up their new robes later that evening before heading home then headed across the street to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor to meet Remus and Tonks.

They were the first to arrive and quickly grabbed a table out on the patio in the shade. They sat there talking about their day so far for a few minutes before the sound of Draco's name being spoken a few tables over made them stop talking to listen.

"Did you hear what Draco did?" Came a high pitched nasally voice.

The three teens turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle sitting together at a table nearby. The speaker had been Pansy.

Zabini looked completely bored as he replied, "No, Pansy, what did he do?" The Italian boy asked, looking like he couldn't really care less.

"Well, I heard that he refused to take the Dark Mark! I mean, I have no clue _why_ he would, but I heard this straight from Theo Nott and he was there! He said that our Lord had Snape bring Draco to him and gave Draco the opportunity to take the Mark, but Draco turned him down!" Pansy shrilled.

Blaise sat up a bit straighter at that.

Crabbe blinked slowly a couple times before asking, "Well, why'd he say no?"

Goyle nodded, showing that he wanted to know too. Blaise didn't say anything, just focused his intense violet gaze on the girl, showing that she had his attention.

"Theo said that Draco said he'd never bow to anyone, especially not some 'insane, obsessive, hypocritical, half-blood megalomaniac'. Draco's words, not mine or Theo's. He said that he was his own man and that he didn't want some 'nut-job's ugly-ass tattoo' marring his flesh! Can you believe that?" Pansy exclaimed.

Blaise's eyes widened in shock, "What did they do to him for that? Is he dead?" He asked, fearing the answer.

Pansy shook her head, "No, he's still alive. Apparently, he had an emergency port-key on him. Took him a bit to get to it, according to Theo though. They got him with the Cruciatus a few times and a bunch of cutting hexes. Theo said he was bleeding pretty good when he port keyed out. So he might actually be dead, he may have bled to death after port keying." She said with a shrug.

"What about Draco's mum? Does she know where he is?" Blaise questioned, pushing his midnight black hair out of his eyes, then added, "And how can you be so nonchalant about him possibly being dead? I thought you liked him."

The brunette girl shook her head, "Mrs. Malfoy has no clue where he is. Our Lord even had her questioned with Veritaserum. Though, she might know now. About half an hour ago, before I left the manor, I over heard my father tell my mother that Mrs. Malfoy had disappeared. She wasn't taken or anything. He said that her stuff was gone, clothes and pictures of her and Draco are all gone, stuff like that. As for why I can be so nonchalant. Well, yes, I did like him. But that was when he was actually sane, before he became a Blood Traitor by turning his back on our Lord!" She exclaimed, her nasally voice shrilling painfully during the last sentence.

Blaise narrowed his eyes at the girl sitting opposite him and the large, stupid boys to either side of him who were nodding their heads dumbly, agreeing with what Pansy had said. "You," He stated calmly, "Are an idiot. Draco was right. The Dark Lord is an insane, obsessive, hypocritical, half-blood megalomaniac. And that Mark of his really is pretty damn ugly. I'm really glad that my family is neutral for the most part and that I don't have any crazy parents who are going to try and force me to take that damn Mark. And I'm glad Draco's mum had disappeared. She obviously left of her own accord, which means that the Dark Lord and his minions can't use her to hurt Draco. And don't even think about trying anything on Draco when we get back to school. You may be a moron who will turn on a friend at the drop of a hat, but I'm not. You screw with Draco, you screw with me, remember that, Parkinson." That said, Blaise stood up and turned to leave but paused as he heard Pansy's voice once more.

"What?!" She shrieked, "You're _agreeing_ with what he did? I never took you for a Blood Traitor, Blaise. Next thing you know, you'll being hanging about with Potter, his Mudblood and those Weasleys!"

Blaise turned and smirked at Pansy, "Well, Pans, that's not a bad idea. I mean, Potter would make one hell of an ally. The boy is powerful and it couldn't hurt to have him as a friend, especially since I don't want to get that ugly-ass tattoo on my arm. Though you definitely won't see me willingly hanging about Granger or the male Weasel, they're far too annoying; I don't know how Potter can stand them. As for the Weaslette," Blaise's smirk widened into a grin, "Well, she's a little spit-fire. She's quick, intelligent and vicious when provoked. Gorgeous, too. Looking at her is far better than looking at you, Pug-face. No, I definitely wouldn't mind spending time in her company." Blaise quickly turned back around and made his way into the bustling crowd, chuckling quietly at Pansy's outraged shrieks, not noticing as he passed a table with three shell-shocked teens.

Ginny, Draco, and Harry stared at Blaise's retreating back until they could no longer see him. Then the three turned and stared at each other, still in shock. Ginny blinked a couple of times before breaking the silence, "Did Blaise Zabini just call me gorgeous?" She asked, still not quite believing her ears. Draco and Harry just nodded, not quite trusting their voices just yet.

A few minutes later they were still staring at each other in shock when Remus and Tonks approached the table and sat down. The two adults looked between the three teens in curiosity. "Um, did we miss something?" Tonks asked, "Is there a reason you three look like you were just hit upside the heads with bludgers?"

All three teens turned and looked at her and merely blinked. Ginny was the one to finally answer her. "Blaise Zabini just called me gorgeous. And not me, Taryn-Me, Ginny-Me. He didn't even know we were here." She said softly, still in a bit of a daze, though she was slowly coming out of her shock.

"He also defended me to Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle." Draco added.

Harry spoke up to add in his bit, "He also said he doesn't want to be a Death Eater. And that he wouldn't mind being friends with me."

Remus blinked a couple times in surprise, "Well, it sounds to me like you kids have something to think about before school starts, huh? For now, why don't we just order our ice cream then head up to the Apothecary and on to Muggle London?"

The others nodded quickly, not really wanting to think about the things they had just learned about Blaise Zabini at the moment.

All five, quickly ordered their ice cream. As they waited for their orders Remus told Harry that he had gotten him the books he wanted. After that the ice cream arrived and they ate mostly in silence.

Once they were finished eating they all headed to the Apothecary by the entrance to the Alley and stocked up on Potions ingredients, even Harry, though he didn't get into Snape's NEWT Potions class.

"Hunter? Why are you buying potions stuff? I thought Snape only accepted students who got O's into his NEWT class. Didn't you get an E?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I did. And he does. But, I was kinda hoping that maybe I could talk someone into tutoring. I mean think about it, Taryn, it would probably make a huge difference if the person teaching me didn't absolutely despise me, ya know?"

Ginny nodded, "Yeah, you have a point there."

Draco glanced at Harry, "Ya know, Hunter, I could tutor you in Potions if you want." He offered.

Harry looked at him, a smile on his face. "Really, Apollo? I'd like that. Thanks!" He replied.

As soon as they paid for their potion supplies, Harry quickly started bouncing again and his eyes lit up, "Time to go to Muggle London! Come on, come on!" He exclaimed as he grabbed Tonks and Draco by their hands and started pulling them back to the Leaky Cauldron, "Come on, Artemis, Apollo! There's more shopping to be done and clothes to be bought! Especially clothes to be bought!"

Ginny and Remus watched Harry bounce away, Draco and Tonks being pulled along for a moment before they joined in Harry's bouncing and excitement.

Ginny grinned at the werewolf next to her as the followed after the three ahead of them, "Ya know, Ash, maybe we shouldn't have given Hunter that ice cream. I really don't think he needed the sugar."

"You may be right, Taryn, you may be right." Remus replied, then glanced at the others before turning back to Ginny, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Ten knuts says they bounce into a wall by the end of the day." He stated.

Ginny's grin widened, "You're on!" Moments later she was gone, running after the others and jumping on Harry's back as she caught up with them. All four of them laughed as Harry stumbled a couple steps from the unexpected impact before dropping Draco and Tonks's hands and reaching back to grab Ginny's legs so he wouldn't drop her. Remus laughed as Tonks launched herself at her 'brother,' quickly jumping on Draco's back, demanding a piggy-back ride as well. Draco just laughed as he grabbed her legs so she wouldn't fall.

'_Yes,'_ Remus thought, _'I think we all needed today. They already seem so much more relaxed and happy.'_ The Lycan smiled to himself as he watched the two sets of 'siblings' disappeared into the Leaky Cauldron as he followed at a more sedate pace.

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**Finally! Another chapter! Sorry I took so long. Writer's Block really sucks, plus I don't have paper copies of this story so I keep having to go back and forth between word and one of the sites this is posted on so that I remember what's going and what has happened.**

**Anyway, funny story. So, I decided that I was gonna update this tonight, no matter what. So, I go online to one of the sites I've posted this on and reread it so that I remember what's happened so far. I get to the end of the last chapter and almost hit the 'review' button to leave a review and tell the author to hurry up and update – I wanna know what happens next! Then I remember, well, fuck, **_**I'm**_** the author! I felt so stupid! LMAO!**

**So, is anyone else looking forward to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? I know I am! I reserved a copy and am going to a midnight event on Friday night to pick it up. I also have Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off work so that I can sit and read books 1-7 straight through. Anybody think I can get through them all in 4 days? Anybody think I'm crazy?**

**I also have a bit of a challenge for anyone who wants to try it. Read books 1-7. Straight through, like I am. Try and get through them in as few sittings as possible. Time yourself. If anyone finishes before me or faster than me (going by time), or in less sittings than me then they get a prize. I'm not sure what, but there will be a prize! No cheating though! You have to actually **_**read **_**the books, not just skim them! Depending on how many people beat me will determine just how many people get prizes, if there's a ton of people then only like the first two or three will, but if like five or less beat me, everyone will. Though, that's only if anyone actually takes me up on my challenge! So let me know if you plan on trying!**

**Okay and for anyone who cares, this chapter was written in one six-hour sitting and is ten pages long and 3,972 words long! It's my longest chapter yet for this story, it beat out chapter four by like 1,321 words! Woohoo!!! does a happy dance**

**Let me know what you think! Please review!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Kyra**


	6. Shopping In Muggle London

**Title:** I Devise My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra aka Demon-childe619

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so please don't sue! The song used in chapter 1 is 'I Devise My Own Demise' by Papa Roach.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through Book 5, takes place the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, mostly just hints of it for now.

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**Chapter 6: Shopping In Muggle London**

Harry, Draco, Ginny, Tonks and Remus blinked as the stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London, Tonks and Ginny still on Draco and Harry's backs. The five of them quickly headed into a nearby alley to remove the glamours. Ginny and Tonks hopped off the boys' backs and a few counter-spells from Remus later and the three teens were back to normal.

"So where to first?" Remus asked as he slipped his wand up the sleeve of his jacket.

Harry shrugged as they all headed back out of the alley, "I'm not really sure. The Dursleys never let me go shopping with them so I'm not quite sure where to go. Though, I'd say that our best bet would probably be a mall, as they have tons of stores all in one place. I think there should be one about ten minutes from here if we take a cab."

Tonks nodded, "Sounds good to me." Moments later a cab had been hailed and the five of them had squeezed inside, Harry telling the driver that they wanted to go to the nearest mall.

Upon stepping out of the cab and catching sight of the mall, Draco's eyes widened considerably, "Sweet Merlin! This place is huge!" He said in awe.

Ginny nodded, "That's a lot of shopping," She agreed.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Tonks asked, "It's already noon and time's a-wasting!"

They entered the mall and gazed around, trying to figure out where to start.

"Umm, maybe we should just wander a bit and if anything catches our eye or a store looks interesting we'll go in." Harry suggested.

It was only a few moments before a store caught the eyes of the teens. Or rather, the shirts on display in the window caught their eyes. Draco raised an eyebrow as he read one of the shirts out loud, "'Do Not Approach A Dragon, For You Are Crunchy And Taste Good With Ketchup.' Nice."

Ginny giggled, "Too bad nobody told Harry that back in your fourth year, huh? Advice like that could have come in handy." She said causing the other four to laugh with her.

"Probably," Harry agreed with a nod, "Wanna go in and see what else they have?"

They went in and started looking at the different racks, laughing out loud at some and reading some out loud to the others.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny piped up pulling a long- sleeved shirt out from one of the racks, "I dare you to wear this around Mad Eye!" She said as she turned the shirt so Harry could read it.

"'It Is As BAD As You Think, And They ARE Out To Get You!'" He read out loud before breaking out into a fit of laughter, "Oh Gods! That's awesome! See if you can find me a large, yeah? I'll wear it next time the Order is scheduled to come to dinner."

The redheaded girl nodded and sifted through the rack until she found the shirt in a large before throwing it to Harry. Draco and Tonks snickered while Remus merely shook his head in amusement, though he couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Moody's reactions to the shirt.

Harry grinned, his emerald green eyes dancing with amusement, as he tossed a shirt at Tonks. She easily caught it and opened it up to see what it said before laughing and holding it up to herself and turning to the others, "What do you think?" She asked.

Remus, Ginny, and Draco started laughing as they took in the baby doll tee with 'I'm Not Myself Today. Maybe I'm You' written across the front.

"I think it's very you," Harry said, the huge grin still fixed on his face. The others all nodded their agreement as they tried to control their amusement.

A few minutes later Draco spoke up, "What do you think of this one?" He asked, holding up a shirt that read 'You're Depriving Some Poor Village Of It's Idiot,' "I could wear it around the Weasel! No offence, Gin."

Ginny giggled and waved a hand at the once-again blonde boy, "None taken. I think it's perfect. Ron'll flip."

Remus chuckled as he pulled a black baby tee off the rack in front of him, "Hey, Gin, here's one for you," He said as he held it up for the others to see 'Nobody's Perfect, And Since I'm Nobody…' written across it in silver cursive letters.

"Ooo, I like, I like!" Ginny said as she took the shirt from the older wizard and added it to her pile of clothes to try on.

About thirty minutes later all five of them had found a couple shirts that they liked, and in some cases more than a couple, and they headed out of the store.

Hours later they had made their way through most of the mall, as well as most of their money. They had all bought new shirts, shoes, pants and in the girls' cases, skirts, as well as various other accessories, including a stop at the optometrist in the mall to buy Harry some contact lenses.

Harry, Draco and Remus stopped short as Tonks pulled Ginny toward a store that was predominantly pink and had mannequins wearing women's underwear in the windows, 'Victoria's Secret' was written in large letters across the windows on either side of the doors.

"Ummm, we'll just wait out here," Harry said, a vaguely terrified look on his face as he looked at the store.

Draco and Remus nodded their agreement, similar looks on their faces, as all three of them slowly backed away from the store.

Tonks rolled her eyes at their expressions while Ginny got a mischievous glint to her eye and a slow smile spread across her face. "What" She asked, her expression one of feigned innocence, "You boys don't wanna help us shop for bras? Or panties? Or-"

"NO!" Draco exclaimed, his voiced pitched a bit higher than normal.

"You sure?" Ginny asked, the false innocence still covering her face.

"Positive!" was the quick and once more higher than normal answer from all three wizards as they backed up a bit faster, looking like they'd like nothing more than to turn and make a run for it.

Tonks and Ginny burst out laughing at the reactions from the men.

"Fine, fine, how about we meet you guys at the hair salon down the hall when we're finished?" Tonks suggested through her giggles.

The guys nodded and quickly turned to head toward the salon. Just before they reached the salon Harry stopped to look in a store window, a thoughtful expression on his face. It took Remus and Draco a moment to realize that the Gryffindor was no longer next to them but as soon as the did they doubled back to stand next to him in front of the store.

"Harry?" Remus asked, looking at Harry with a quizzical expression, "What is it?"

The raven-haired boy looked at his companions, "I wanna go in here," He said, gesturing to the store.

The werewolf frowned a bit as he looked between his best friend's son and the store they stood in front of, "But, Harry, that's a-" He started.

"I know. And I wanna go in." Harry stated.

"Ya know," Draco spoke up, "I think I'd actually like to go in here, too."

Remus sighed and nodded as he followed the boys inside.

About an hour later, the three wizards exited the store and made their way to the hair salon to meet the girls.

"There you are!" Tonks exclaimed as the entered the salon, "Where were you guys?"

"Just a couple of stores down," Draco answered, "Harry and I got distracted."

Ginny's eyebrows rose, "You got distracted? For an hour?" She asked a bit incredulous.

"Yeah, pretty much." Harry nodded. "So, any idea what you wanna do to your hair?" He asked, effectively changing the subject.

The three Hogwarts students ended up being the only ones who got their hair done, Tonks not needing to because of her metamorphmagus abilites and Remus not needing to because he was happy with his hair the way it was. Ginny left the salon with her waist length red hair cut up to her shoulders and golden highlights. Draco's blonde hair was no longer gelled back and hung loose around his face, the tips lightly brushing his cheekbones and now had black streaked throughout it. Harry's hair was just as messy as it had been before, only now it was a controlled messy and slightly spiked, he also had green streaked throughout his hair. His hair was just long enough for one of the green streaks to fall across his eye, covering his scar in the process. All three teens were grinning, completely satisfied with the finished product.

As they made their way back to the entrance of the mall Tonks addressed the teens, "You know, if you guys really like the streaks in your hair, there's a charm that you can use that will basically make your hair grow the way it is now, you won't ever have to touch up your roots or anything. And if you decide you don't want the color anymore, it's no problem since there's a simple counter-spell for it. And the best thing, if you do the charm, nobody but you can undo it. Meaning that even if Mrs. Weasley hates Ginny's highlights or Harry or Draco's streaks she won't be able to do anything about it."

"Really?" Ginny asked, "Could you do it for me before we get back to the house? Mum will try and change my hair the instant we walk through the door, I just know it."

The purple-haired metamorphmagus nodded, "Sure, no problem. I can do yours, too, if you boys want," She said, directing the last bit to Draco and Harry earning a nod from both of them, "Cool, we'll do it when we get to the Leaky Cauldron."

A few minutes later a cab pulled up to the curb and the five of them once again squeezed in, each of them thankful that Tonks and Remus had shrunk all of their bags so that they would fit in their pockets. Shortly after that they pulled up outside the Leaky Cauldron and unloaded.

Before entering the magical pub they once more went into a nearby alley so that Remus could reapply their glamours. Before the teens' glamours were reapplied Tonks performed the charm to make their hair grow its current color. Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out four necklaces, each with a small charm hanging from a thin leather cord. The first he handed to Draco, it had a small sun charm hanging from the cord. To Harry he handed a necklace with a small dog paw print charm hanging from the cord. Ginny received one with a small cross charm. The last one he kept for himself, this one had a small wolf charm on it.

"Put these on," He said as he handed them out. "I made these while Harry and Draco were…distracted. They're basically portable Glamour Charms. If you hold the charm and say your alter ego's name the charm will activate. For example I'd hold mine and say 'Ash.' To deactivate the charm you hold the charm and say your real name, for me I'd hold it and say 'Remus.' For Harry it would be 'Hunter' and 'Harry,' for Draco 'Apollo' and 'Draco,' and for Ginny it's set for 'Taryn' and 'Ginevra.'" Remus explained. "This way you get a bit anonymity when you go out, like today, and you don't need to have someone else perform the charm. The necklaces are charmed to be unbreakable and so that only you can take them off. They're also long enough that you can tuck them into your shirt so no one will see them."

The three teens thanked their former professor and slipped the necklaces over their heads before grasping the charm and saying the name of their alter ego while Remus did the same and Tonks quickly changed her features to those of Artemis.

"Everybody ready?" Tonks asked and upon getting nods from the others started back towards the Leaky Cauldron. "So, we just need to stop by Madam Malkin's to pick up your robes, right?"

"Actually, I need to pick something up at the Magical Menagerie." Harry said with a grin as he thought about Ginny's reaction to his present for her.

Remus nodded, "Alright then. How about you three go to Madam Malkin's for the robes and Hunter and I will meet you at the Leaky Cauldron after we pick up whatever it is he needs to get." He suggested.

After getting nods from Tonks, Ginny and Draco, Harry and Remus headed for the Magical Menagerie while the others made their way to the robe shop.

"So what is it you need to pick up, Hunter?" Remus asked, looking at the boy next to him curiously.

The Gryffindor grinned, "I bought Taryn her birthday present earlier. You remember that kitten they were looking at? I got that for her. I mean, her birthday was a few days ago, on the eleventh, and nobody did anything for it. No party, no presents, nothing. So I figured I'd get her the kitten as a late-birthday-slash-thank-you-for-taking-my-side present."

"That was very nice of you, Hunter. I'm sure she'll love it." Remus told him.

At that point they reached the store and walked in, the tiny bell above the door ringing.

The witch from before looked up and smiled at Harry, "Ah, there you are, Hun. I was beginning to wonder if you'd be back tonight." She said. "I have all the stuff you wanted right here. The directions for the formula are on the can and I think everything else is pretty self-explanatory. I also threw in a couple of toys and a thing of treats for free. Here you go." With that a small bag with all the shrunk items in it and a kennel were set on the counter. Harry leaned over a bit to look inside and smiled at the kitten who was staring back at him with bright amber-colored eyes.

"Taryn's going to love her!" He said with a grin then looked at the witch behnd the counter, "Thanks again for holding her for me."

"Not a problem, Hun! You gentlemen have a nice evening now!" She said.

Harry and Remus nodded and Harry picked up the kennel while Remus took the bag of shrunk items and the two left the store, heading back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

Remus and Harry made it back to the pub before the others and grabbed a table in a corner. Harry set the kennel in the corner and maneuvered his chair so that Ginny wouldn't be able to see it unless he moved. Moments later Ginny, Tonks and Daco walked into the pub and looked around for a second before spotting the two wizards and making their way towards them.

"Did you get what you needed, Hunter?" Ginny asked as they approached the table.

Harry grinned, "Yup," He replied as he moved out of the way so that Ginny could see the kennel, "Happy Birthday, Sis!"

Ginny's eyes widened as she caught sight of the kitten peering at her through the door of the cage. She looked back and forth between Harry and the kitten for a few moments before throwing herself at her 'brother' and hugging him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed before crouching down to look at the kitten better. She slowly opened the kennel and pulled the kitten out, cuddling her close to her chest. The kitten sniffed at Ginny's down-turned face for a moment before licking at her chin causing Ginny to giggle. "Oh, I love her, Hunter! Thank you so much!" She said, looking back up at Harry.

"What are you going to name her?" Draco asked curiously as he reached out to pet the kitten.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. What do you think about Nyx?" Ginny replied, looking at the others for their opinions.

"I like it," Remus said and the others nodded.

Ginny smiled and looked back at the kitten in her arms, "What do you think, are you a 'Nyx'" She asked. The kitten gave a small 'mew' and started purring. "I'll take that as a 'yes'" The currently blonde girl said with a giggle.

"Sorry to interrupt," Tonks said, "But we really need to be getting back. Mrs. Weasley should be serving dinner soon and you know we'll get an earful if we're not back by dinner."

The others nodded and stood up, Ginny quickly putting Nyx back in the kennel and picking it up. "Let's go then," She said.

They quickly made their way over to the fireplace in the pub. "Okay, same order as before," Remus stated, "Artemis, Apollo, Taryn, Hunter, then me."

Tonks grabbed a pinch of floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, stepped in and shouted "Number 12, Grimmauld Place."

Draco quickly followed her and Ginny paused only long enough to give Harry another hug before following Draco. Harry quickly followed Ginny, throwing the floo powder into the fireplace and yelling "Nmber 12, Grimmauld Place." He once again stumbled out of the fireplace and once again, he was caught by Draco, who had already deactivated his Glamour Charm. Draco's arms once again wrapped around the Gryffindor as he helped to steady him. Harry's hands grasped Draco's shoulders to keep himself from falling as he tried to get his feet back under him. Once he was back on his feet he reached for his necklace and with a quickly muttered 'Harry' he once more looked like himself. As he realized he was still standing in the other boy's arms Harry quickly looked up to meet Draco's silver gaze. _'Ooo, pretty eyes!'_ Harry thought as he breathed in deeply, _'And he still smells just as good as he did this morning. Yummy! No! Not yummy! Stop sniffing the Malfoy!'_ He thought, berating himself. Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall forward onto the Slytherin's shoulder with a groan, _'Dammit!'_

Draco smiled slightly as he once again ended up with an armful of Harry Potter. He felt Harry get his balance back and reluctantly readied himself to let go of the other boy, but to his surprise, Harry didn't step back. Instead, he looked up and caught Draco's gaze. Draco's breath caught in his throat as he saw Harry's glasses-free emerald green eyes up-close for the first time. _'He definitely looks better without those glasses,'_ He thought. After a second he remembered that breathing was a good thing and took a deep breath, _'And he still smells delicious. I wonder if he tastes as good as he smells…'_ Draco was startled out of his thoughts as Harry let out a small groan and dropped his head onto Draco's shoulder.

Both boys jumped and looked up as they heard someone politely clearing their throat. Ginny was standing there giggling slightly and Tonks was grinning while Remus stood next to them with a small smirk on his face. Draco tightened his arms around Harry momentarily before letting them fall back to his sides. Harry stepped away from the other boy with a small sigh. "I hate Floo travel," He said as he looked down, slightly embarrassed and trying to will away the blush he could feel rising on his cheeks. This just caused Ginny to giggle louder.

Ginny opened her mouth to tease the dark haired boy but before she could say anything Mrs. Weasley entered the sitting room.

"Oh good, you're back!" Mrs Weasley said, barely looking at them, "You lot go put your stuff away, dinner's in five minutes. Most of the Order will be here since there's a meeting after, so don't take too long."

Remus and Tonks quickly emptied their pockets of the shrunken shopping bags and resized them. The teens thanked the adults and grabbed the bags before heading upstairs.

Draco took the lead and headed towards his room, "C'mon, we can sort through everything in my room. We'll have more room in there since I have the room to myself."

Once in Draco's room the closed the door and dumped everything out onto the bed and started sorting through it.

"Oh, Harry, don't forget you have to wear this tonight," Ginny said handing Harry the shirt she had dared him to wear around Mad Eye Moody.

Harry grinned as he placed it off to the side. "This is gonna be pretty funny," He said, "And not just because of the shirt but because your mum didn't get a good look at us before we headed up here. She's gonna freak in front of everyone!" The three teens all laughed at the thought.

Draco picked up the 'Village Idiot' t-shirt he had picked out earlier and held it up, "Should I wear this to dinner?" He asked with a smirk.

"Definitely!" Ginny said. "Now, which one should I wear?" She asked holding up her 'Nobody's Perfect' shirt and a purple one with blue writing.

"That one," Draco said pointing at the purple shirt.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "And sit across from Hermione. That shirt will definitely piss her off."

Ginny nodded and set the shirt off to the side with Harry and Draco's. A few minutes later they finished sorting everything, just in time to hear Mrs. Weasley yell up the stairs that it was time for dinner.

"I'm gonna go put this stuff in my room and change, I'll meet you at the top of the stairs in a few minutes." Harry said as he picked up his stuff headed out the door into the hall.

"Same here," Ginny said, "See you guys in a few."

Draco just nodded and pulled off the grey sweater he had put on that morning and reached for his new shirt.

Harry went to close the door but paused for a moment and stared as Draco took his sweater off. After a few seconds he shook his head and finished shutting the door turning to head towards his room and stopping short when he realized that Ginny was standing right in front of him, an amused smirk on her face and her eyes dancing with mischief.

"Oh, shut up!" Harry said as he stepped around the red-head.

Ginny giggled as she followed him down the hall, "I didn't say anything," She said. They stopped next to her room and Ginny stepped inside, watching Harry continue towards his room. "Though, Harry?"

"Yeah?" He replied, stopping in the middle of the hall and turning back to look at her.

Ginny just grinned, "You might wanna wipe the drool off your chin!" She said with a laugh as she ducked into her room and closed the door.

Harry's eyes widened and his hand flew up to his mouth to check for drool. Finding none, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Ginny's door for a moment before heading the rest of the way to his room. _'Oh, haha, very funny, Gin!'_ He thought as he entered his room, closing the door behind him. He quickly pulled off Draco's shirt that he had been wearing all day, breathing deeply the Slytherin's scent as he tugged the shirt over his head. Next he stripped off Dudley's old pants and dug through his bags of new clothes and pulled out a pair of jeans, quickly pulling them on. The jeans were black and loose, hanging low on his hips, though that was because of the style and not because they'd previously belonged to a boy who was trying to impersonate a whale. Then he pulled on his new shirt, thankful that it was long-sleeved and would cover his bandages. Lastly he sat down and pulled on a pair of his new combat boots to complete the outfit. Looking into the mirror in the room he grinned at his reflection. Gone was the scrawny boy in too big clothes and broken glasses, instead a slim young man in clothes that fit and looked good on him stared back from the glass. With one last grin at his reflection Harry turned and headed toward the door to meet back up with Draco and Ginny and head down to what was sure to be a very interesting dinner.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Well, what did you think?**

**This one turned out to be nearly 9 ½ pages and 4,078 words. Yay! I think that's around 100 more words than the last chapter! If this keeps up I'll end up having 10,000 word chapters! And considering I normally write a chapter in one sitting, that's a scary thought!**

**Also, I just wanted to say Congrats to HaliaStar who was the only person to take me up on my challenge and read all 7 HP books straight through, she actually managed to beat me at it, so I now owe her a story but the muses were boycotting that project so I decided to update this one hoping it would help make the muses less stubborn.**

**In case anyone is wondering, it took me a few extra days to make it all the way through the series. Though I did read books 1-3 and half of 4 in one sitting of 21 hours, 33 minutes and 49 seconds; Go Me! Over all, for all seven books it took me 70 hours, 40 minutes and 27 seconds. Though that's only reading time, not including breaks. But still, that's a lot of reading!**

**If you want an idea of what Nyx looks like go here:**

**http :// www. Flickr. com/ photos/ emphasis/ 28225623/**

**or here:**

**http :// www. flickr. com/ photos/ mad/ 753955278/**

**Just take out the spaces.**

**Anyway, leave me a review and let me know what you think or if you spot any errors or typos that need corrected.**

**Laterz,**

**Kyra**


	7. Dinner & A Bonfire

**Title: **My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra

**Disclaimer:** Nothing but the plot is mine, so please don't sue! All you'd get is some pocket lint anyway.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through book 5, starts the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, just hints of it for now.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Chapter 7: Dinner & A Bonfire**

Harry, Draco and Ginny met up at the top of the stairs to head down to dinner.

"You guys ready?" Harry asked with a grin as he looked over the other two.

Draco was wearing a pair of jeans similar to Harry's, black and loose hanging low on his hips, the bottoms dragging on the floor, the blonde's combat boots barely visible. His outfit was topped off with the shirt he had bought earlier, long-sleeved and black with the words 'You're Depriving Some Poor Village Of It's Idiot' scrawled across it in white.

Ginny was dressed in a pair of tight low-rise dark blue jeans, sneakers and the shirt she had decided to wear for the night was purple with blue lettering that was sure to piss Hermione off.

Both nodded at Harry with huge grins on their faces, "Let's go piss some people off," Draco said as he placed an arm around Ginny's waist, pulling her close.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde boy's actions, "You do realize Ron's gonna flip shit if the two of you walk in like that, right?"

Ginny simply giggled, "That's the point, Harry! Now, get over here on my other side!" She looked over at Harry before adding slyly, "Or maybe you should take Draco's other side?"

Harry merely glared at her before moving over and wrapping his arm around her from the other side, "C'mon, let's go before your mum decides to come looking for us," He said.

The three of them quickly made their way downstairs and to the kitchen, pausing outside the door to share conspiratorial grins before casually and calmly strolling into the room. A quick glance around showed that, with the exception of Dumbledore, they were the last to arrive, though nobody had sat down yet. Snape stood in the darkest corner of the room glaring at everyone, Moody was talking to Shacklebolt and Professor McGonagall about suspected Death Eaters, Remus and Tonks were quietly talking about their day as Tonks petted Nyx, Mrs. Weasley was busy adding the finishing touches to dinner, Fred and George were off to the side whispering to each other, most likely about something to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Mr. Weasley was talking to Bill and Charlie who had only arrived at Number 12 earlier that day, and Ron and Hermione were the only ones sitting as they quietly talked at the table.

At the sound of the Kitchen door opening everyone looked up from their conversations, most of them going back to their previous conversations once noting that it was only Harry, Ginny and Draco entering the room then doing a double-take as their appearances finally registered. The shocked looks on everyone's faces were priceless! Kingsley's eyebrows rose so high that had he had any hair they would have disappeared into the hairline, McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley looked both shocked and scandalized. Bill and Charlie were looking at their little sister in complete shock as she casually leaned back into the two boys on either side of her who had an arm each wrapped around her waist. Fred and George were completely wide-eyed as they realized just how much their baby sister had grown up over the years. Mr. Weasley looked both shocked and like he wanted nothing more than to rip the two offending males away from his baby girl and wrap her up in an over-sized jacket…and probably would if he wasn't completely frozen from the shock. Moody had both of his eyes fixed firmly on the trio, his jaw hanging open slightly. Snape's eyes went wide before his face once more arranged itself into a scowling glare, this time focused on Ginny, Draco and Harry instead of the rest of the room. Hermione was staring at them with wide eyes and her jaw practically touching the floor from surprise and shock. Remus and Tonks just had huge grins on their faces as they tried not to laugh out loud at the expressions on everyone's faces. However, Ron's face by far the best. He was wide-eyed from shock, looked completely scandalized and was quickly turning purple.

The trio simply stood in the doorway, slight smirks on all their faces and amusement and mischief shining in their eyes.

The shocked silence could only last for so long though and a minute later their was an explosion of noise.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!!!!" Mrs. Weasley screeched, "What in Merlin's name do you think you're wearing?!"

"Oh My Goodness! Harry what have you done to yourself?" Hermione exclaimed.

"MALFOY!!!! Get your bloody hands off my sister!" Ron bellowed.

"Ginny! Go back upstairs and put some clothes on!" Mr. Weasley stated.

A sharp, shrill whistle cut through the yelling voices and caused everyone to turn towards Remus in shock.

"What?" He asked, "The yelling was starting to hurt my ears. Besides, silencing charm on the door or not, if you lot get any louder you'll wake up Mrs. Black."

Ron was the first to turn his attention back to the teens near the door. "Damn it, Malfoy!" He growled, "I thought I just told you to get your BLOODY HANDS OFF MY SISTER! And Gin! You look like a…a…a _scarlet woman_!" He hissed, earning himself a deadly glare from Ginny as well as the two boys at her sides.

Ginny angrily opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by her father's voice.

"Ginny, I must insist that you go back upstairs and change this instant," He said in a controlled voice, "And that you boys take your hands off my daughter." He took a step forward as though to pull the boys off the redheaded girl only to have the three of them step back, the boys stepping slightly closer to Ginny and tightening the arms they had around her.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Ginny demanded, glaring fiercely at her father and Ron.

"There's not enough of it!" Ron exclaimed, "And its way too tight!"

"Actually, I think she looks good," Tonks stated, "She's completely covered and its really not that tight. It just actually _fits_. That's how clothes are supposed to fit a girl. Only reason it looks tight is because you're all used to her in hand-me-down clothes from big brothers."

"Tonks is right," Hermione agreed, "That's how most of my clothes fit me."

Ron opened his mouth once more to say something only to be cut off as the kitchen door once more opened, this time letting Albus Dumbledore into the room.

"Ah, good, I'm not as late as I feared. I thought for sure I had missed the beginning of dinner," The Hogwarts Headmaster said as he saw everybody still standing around.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Dinner! Everybody sit! Fred, George, you two help me set the table. Bill, Charlie, you two help me bring the food over."

As the four redheads went to help their mother, everyone else moved to the table to sit down. Harry, Draco and Ginny smirked at each other before taking three of the seats across from Ron and Hermione, Draco directly across from Ron, Ginny next to him and directly across from Hermione and Harry next to her.

Remus and Tonks moved to take the two seats next to Draco and threw grins at the other three as the paused before sitting down to take off their jackets. Ginny started giggling as she saw Tonks' shirt, it was pink and had 'Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult' written across it in purple. Switching their gazes to Remus' newly revealed shirt all three burst out laughing as they took in the black shirt that plainly stated in bold red letters, 'Never Say 'Bite Me' To A Werewolf.'

The sounds of the loud laughter drew everyone's attention to them. Everybody looked at them curiously before following the teenagers' gazes to Remus' shirt. Fred, George, Bill and Charlie all burst out laughing while everyone else's eyes widened. A moment later everyone's eyes slide over to Tonks' shirt and then on down the line to Draco, Ginny and Harry's shirts. Fred and George started laughing even harder as they realized that the trio had picked their seats deliberately, Draco sitting across from Ron in his 'Village Idiot' shirt and Ginny sitting across from Hermione in a purple shirt with blue writing that read 'I Refuse To Have A Battle Of Wits With An Unarmed Person.'

Once everyone had started reading the shirts, Harry's gaze had immediately fixed on the seat directly opposite him, where Moody had sat down. A soft smirk settled on his face as he watched the ex-auror read the message scrawled in red across his black shirt, 'It IS As Bad As You Think, And They Are Out To Get You!' As soon as he finished the ex-auror leapt backwards with a yell, overturning his chair and pointed at Harry's shirt with a crazed and paranoid expression on his face, "I _knew_ it!" He exclaimed, "I told you! I told you they were after me! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! That's the only way!" He quickly whipped out his wand and started darting his eyes around the room for any sign of attack, "I won't let 'em get me!"

While most everyone had jumped at Moody's outburst, Harry, Draco, Ginny, Tonks and Remus started laughing hysterically, Remus and Tonks leaning against each other for support and the three teens literally falling out of their chairs they were laughing so hard. As soon as Bill, Charlie and the Twins realized what had happened they too started laughing.

"Alastor! Alastor!" Dumbledore cried as he tried to get the crazed ex-auror's attention, "Alastor, everything is okay! It's just a shirt, it wasn't meant literally. Please, sit down."

Moody finally calmed down a bit and sat down again though he was noticeably twitchier than before. The Twins, Bill, Charlie, Tonks and Remus quickly got their laughter under control and composed themselves. Once everyone had calmed back down, they glanced around and noticed that Draco, Ginny and Harry were missing from their seats. A moment later a couple of soft, breathless chuckles and a quiet, breathless giggle were heard from under the table. Tonks grinned before leaning over towards Draco's seat to look under the table, "Hey, you three gonna join us up here? Or do you plan on eating down there?" She asked.

"We're coming," Harry replied before they pulled themselves back into their seats. Once they were back in their seats and comfortable again Ginny glanced up and her gaze locked on Moody, causing her to once more break down in a fit of giggles, which in turn set the boys off again. Remus and Tonks merely watched them with amusement. A few moments later the three of them finally got hold of themselves again and determinably looked anywhere but at Moody.

"So," Harry piped up, "What's for dinner?"

Everyone turned to look at Harry for a moment before Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and started passing out the food.

Dinner passed by in a buzz of conversations, bouts of laughter, insults and glares from Ron directed at Draco, insulted and affronted looks from Hermione directed at Ginny once she realized that Gin's shirt was meant as an insult to her, annoyed looks from Harry to Ron every time the redhead would insult the blonde and one blow up from Mrs. Weasley when she finally realized that Ginny had cut he hair up to her shoulders and added highlights.

It happened about halfway through the meal and the change was brought to Mrs. Weasley's attention when she glanced up from her conversation with her husband and saw Ginny laughing with Harry and Draco. Draco had just muttered something to the other two that caused Harry and Ginny to lean against each other as they laughed. As they straightened up, Ginny's hair fell forward into her face and she absently pushed it back behind her ears, the ends resting just on her collar bone and the golden highlights catching the light as she gently shook her head before muttering something back to the blonde.

"Ginevra Weasley!" Molly exclaimed, bringing the entire tables attention to the two of them and causing the three teens to look at the Weasley matriarch, confused looks on their faces. The confusion quickly cleared as Mrs. Weasley continued, "What on _earth_ have you done to your beautiful hair?"

Ginny grinned, "I got it cut while we were in London. Do you like it?" She asked.

Judging by the look on Mrs. Weasley's face, she did not. "Like it?! Ginny, why would you do that? Your hair was so pretty long! And did you _dye_ it too?" She asked.

"Yeah, Mum, I did. It's just some gold highlights. I think it looks really good. And I wanted it shorter because it was _too_ long, I couldn't do anything with it. And do you have any idea how _long_ it took to wash it? I like it like this, I think it suits me." Ginny replied.

"Well, I think you made a mistake!" Mrs. Weasley stated as she pulled out her wand, "I'm going to fix this right now!" She pointed the wand at Ginny and muttered a quick spell that would return the younger girl's hair to its previous state. Nothing happened. A look of confusion swept over Mrs. Weasley's face as she looked at her wand before trying the spell once more. Again, nothing happened. "What-? Why-? I don't understand, why won't the spell work?" She muttered, mostly to herself.

"It won't work because I got someone to charm my hair so that only I can change it magically. My hair will grow like this until I take the charm off. Basically, this is now my natural hair color. And I don't plan on removing the charm any time soon, so you'll just have to get used to it." Ginny told her mother.

Harry and Draco nodded. "Yeah, Draco and I had the same charm put on our hair as well. All three of us like our hair the way it is now." Harry added.

Molly turned to Harry and really looked at his hair for the first time since the teens had returned from London. "Oh my goodness, Harry Dear! What did you do? There's _green_ in your hair!" She exclaimed.

Harry simply nodded, "Yup."

"_Why?_" She asked.

The teen shrugged, "Cause I wanted to. I thought it would look cool…Which it does. It's…An expression of self."

"An expression of self?!" Ron exclaimed, "Harry, Mate, you're a _Gryffindor_!!!"

Draco snorted softly, "Oh, if you only knew, Weasel." He muttered to himself, low enough that only Ginny and Remus heard him; Ginny because she was right next to him and Remus because of his werewolf-enhanced hearing. Remus sent Draco a confused look before turning his attention back to the discussion of Harry's hair.

Harry grinned, "I thought it matched my eyes." He joked causing Ginny and Tonks to giggle and Remus and Draco to chuckle. "Look, I like my hair like this, and this is how its going to stay so get used to it." He stated before turning back to his food, clearly telling everyone that, as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over, Ginny and Draco quickly following his example.

After that everyone went back their meals and their conversations and the rest of dinner seemed to fly by. Once everyone was finished eating Mrs. Weasley shooed Harry, Draco, Ginny, Ron and Hermione out of the room so that the Order meeting could start. She looked like she wanted to try shooing the Twins out as well, but as they were adults and members of the Order she knew she couldn't. As soon as the teenagers were out of the kitchen she immediately cast an Imperturbable Charm on the door to keep them from spying on the meeting.

Harry immediately headed for the stairs.

"Harry, Mate, where you going?" Rona asked, "Don't you wanna try and listen in on the meeting?"

"What's the point?" Harry replied, "There's Silencing and Imperturbable Charms on the door, we aren't going to hear anything. Besides, I have plans."

"Plans?" Hermione repeated, "What plans? You don't have anything planned with Ron or I and it's not like we can go anywhere. What kind of plans could you possibly have? Harry?" She asked, following him up the stairs, Draco, Ginny and Ron trailing behind them, curious as well.

They followed Harry into the room he shared with Ron and watched as he started rifling through the bags of stuff he bought earlier.

"Harry! Are you going to answer me?" Hermione demanded impatiently.

"Damn it! Where is it?" Harry muttered to himself before raising his voice, "Hey, Gin, Draco, do either of you remember what bag my Zippo was in?" He asked over his shoulder as he continued searching through the bags.

"What's a Zippo?" Ron asked, his face screwed up in confusion.

"It's a type of lighter. Muggles use them as a replacement for the Incendio Charm." Hermione explained, "Why do you have a Zippo, Harry? And what kind of plans do you have that would involve one?"

"I'm gonna burn the house down," Harry replied carelessly as he glanced back over his shoulder, grinning at the looks of horror on Ron and Hermione's faces and the looks of amusement on Ginny and Draco's. "Geez, I'm kidding! But seriously, do either of you remember what bag it was in?" He asked, directing the last part at Ginny and Draco as he resumed his search.

"Sorry, no clue, Harry," Ginny replied, shaking her head, "But I'll help you look." She quickly joined Harry in digging through the bags.

"Draco?" Harry asked when the blonde didn't say anything.

"Yeah, I'm thinking, just gimme a sec." He replied. "Did you check in your pants pocket from earlier? I think I remember seeing you put it in there."

Harry smacked himself in the forehead, "Oh, Duh! I totally forgot I did that!" With that he quickly moved over and grabbed the pants he wore to London off the top of the pile of old hand-me-down stuff he had taken out of his trunk earlier and searched through the pockets. A couple seconds later he pulled his hand out of a pocket, grinning in triumph. "Found it! Thanks, Draco!" He threw the old pants back on the pile and flipped open the Zippo, lighting it and watching the flame for a second before snapping it closed again and putting it in his pocket.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "What are you going to do with that? Why do you need a Zippo?"

Harry merely grinned at her, an anticipatory gleam in his eyes before he knelt down and scooped up as much of the old crap he'd gotten from the Dursleys as he could. "Could one of you grab the rest of that?" He asked as he headed for the door to the room and then turned toward the stairs.

Ron and Hermione stared at the clothes with a look of revulsion and Draco rolled his eyes before leaning down and picking up the last of the clothes, "Gin, do you mind grabbing those sneakers?" He asked, nodding his head toward the pair of ratty old sneakers Harry had worn to London earlier that day.

"Sure thing," She replied, grabbing the shoes and following Draco out the door and towards the stairs, following the fading sounds of Harry's footsteps.

Hermione and Ron followed after them, Hermione still worried about what Harry wanted with a Zippo lighter.

They caught up with Harry at the bottom of the stairs and followed him as he headed down the hall towards the back of the house. Once they reached the back door Harry stopped and looked at the door contemplatingly before shaking his head, "Uh, can someone get the door? My hands are kinda full."

Ginny quickly slid around Draco and Harry and opened the door and stepped outside, holding the door open for Harry and Draco, not bothering to hold it for Ron and Hermione.

Harry quickly made his way to the middle of the large back yard and dropped his arm load of clothes on the ground, Draco dropping the clothes he was carrying on top and Ginny putting the sneakers she had on the very top of the pile.

Hermione stepped in front of Harry and placed her hands on her hips, "Harry James Potter! What are you doing? Are you ever going to answer me?" She demanded.

"Chill out, Hermione! If you'd shut up and be patient, you'd get your answers!" Harry told her as he looked around for a moment before crossing the yard and grabbing a long stick of the ground. He nodded to himself, "This'll work." He walked back over to the pile of clothes and grabbed one of Uncle Vernon's old socks off the pile, slipping it over the end of the stick then reaching into his pocket and fishing out his Zippo. Before Hermione or Ron realized what he was doing he flipped open the lighter, lit it and held it out to the sock, a few seconds later and the sock was on fire.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione shouted.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing, Mate?" Ron exclaimed as he tried to grab the stick from Harry.

"Aren't you two going to do anything?" Hermione asked, turning to Draco and Ginny. All she got in response was twin shakes of the head, they had figured out what Harry was planning as soon as Harry got his Zippo and picked up the arm load of clothes. "Ugh!" The frizzy-haired girl exclaimed before turning to try and talk some sense into Harry.

It was too late. Just as she turned back around, Harry reached out and dropped the flaming sock-on-a-stick on top of the hand-me-down clothes, grinning as he watched as the hated clothes caught on fire.

"I'd roast some marshmallows," Harry said absently, "But alas, no marshmallows. Oh well, they probably wouldn't taste too good anyway, not with Dudley's clothes and Uncle Vernon's socks roasting them." He finished with a shrug.

Ginny and Draco grinned at that and stood next to Harry watching the clothes burn. Hermione and Ron stood back a few feet and watched in horror as the clothes went up in flames.

"I can't believe you just did that," Ron muttered as he looked at the bonfire Harry had created.

"Why not?" Harry asked, "I hated those things. They deserved to be burned."

The five teens stood out there watching the flames dancing merrily for nearly an hour before they heard the back door open and Mrs. Weasley's voice calling out, "Kids?"

Mrs. Weasley caught sight of the fire and rushed outside, "Oh Merlin!" She exclaimed, pulling out her wand, "What happened?"

"NO!" Harry shouted and Mrs. Weasley's 'Augamenti' spell died on her lips. "Let it burn. It'll be out soon, anyway." He told her.

"What's going on?"

The teens and Mrs. Weasley turned and saw Remus, Tonks, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George exiting the house, drawn out by Harry's shout. It had been Bill who'd asked the question.

"I-I don't know," Mrs. Weasley said, "I came out here looking for the kids after the meeting since they weren't inside and they were just staring at this fire. When I went to put it out, Harry stopped me."

"Harry?" Remus asked.

Harry shrugged, "It's all of my old clothes. I wanted to watch them burn, its much more satisfying than throwing them away."

"Ah," The werewolf said, understanding crossing his face, "It's alright, Molly, you go ahead and go back in, I'll stay out here with the kids."

"I'll stay, too, Molly, no worries." Tonks said.

Molly nodded and headed back towards the house, Arthur, the Twins, Charlie and Bill following her. Ron and Hermione hesitated for a moment before following after Mrs. Weasley. Harry barely noticed them leave.

Harry, Draco, Ginny, Tonks and Remus spent the next half hour in companionable silence, watching the fire slowly die and the last of Harry's old clothes burn to ashes.

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**Well, what did you think? Leave a review and let me know!**

**I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update this! Though if it helps at all, I wrote this on one sitting; I started at around 6:30 pm and it's currently 5:45 am. I've only stopped long enough to grab a bowl of chips (eating them while typing), to go to the bathroom, and to double check what I've written before so I don't have any major inconsistencies. I hope ya'll love me for this! Seriously, I have to get up for work at 10:30! Really, the things I do for my fans! grins**

**I actually almost stopped this chapter in a couple of places but had stuff I wanted to get in here, though the main thing I wanted to put in still didn't make it. It'll definitely be in the next chapter though or maybe the one after that, depends on how long my next chapter ends up being.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! Please review! I'm gonna go to bed now, I'm about to fall over I'm so damn tired!**

**Laterz,**

**Kyra**

**Oh, and if anyone cares, this chapter was 10 pages and 4,027 words long!**


	8. A Late Night Attic Meeting

**Title: **My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra

**Disclaimer:** Nothing but the plot is mine, so please don't sue! All you'd get is some pocket lint anyway.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through book 5, starts the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, just hints of it for now.

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to absque amor, who asked me to update in a review reply at the end of one of her stories and made me realize that I really did need to get my ass into gear and update!

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**Chapter 8: A Late Night Attic Meeting**

Harry lay in bed listening as Ron's breathing slowly evened out in sleep and the redhead started snoring. After waiting a few minutes to make sure that Ron was well and truly asleep, Harry slowly and quietly slipped out of bed and out of the room. As Harry passed Draco's room on his way to the attic, he remembered the blonde's words from that morning and paused outside the door. Reaching out, he quietly knocked on the door, not wanting to wake anyone else up. Just as Harry was beginning to think he'd need to knock harder, the door opened and revealed Draco.

Harry momentarily forgot what he was going to say as he took in the sight of Draco standing in the doorway in just his boxers, his hair slightly disheveled. "Um," Harry started, trying to remember what it was that he wanted to say.

"Attic?" Draco asked, unknowingly saving Harry from completely embarrassing himself.

Harry smiled slightly in relief and nodded.

Draco nodded back, "Sure, I'll be up in a second; just let me pull on a shirt and some pajama pants."

'_Please don't,'_ Harry thought fleetingly before quickly shaking the thought out of his head. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you up there then," He said, watching as Draco nodded once more and closed the door before turning and making his way up to the attic.

About ten minutes later Draco entered the attic. "Sorry I took so long, I stopped in the bathroom to grab some bandages and stuff to re-wrap your arms," He said. When Harry didn't reply the blonde looked up to see Harry staring at a dark spot in the middle of the attic floor. Silver eyes widened slightly as Draco realized that they were looking at the blood stain from Harry's suicide attempt the night before.

"I lost a lot of blood, didn't I?" Harry asked as he finally looked up from the blood stain.

Draco nodded slowly, "Yeah, you did. I was actually afraid that I was too late. It was a really good thing that we had those blood replenishing potions; if we hadn't, I don't think you would have made it."

Harry blinked a couple of times as he turned his attention back to the stain on the floor. After a few more moments of silence he finally spoke up again. "We should probably clean this up," He said softly, "I don't exactly fancy trying to explain to everyone why there's a blood stain on the attic floor if anyone ever decides to come up here. Which is actually inevitable since it will need to be cleaned eventually."

Draco nodded his agreement as he slipped his wand out of a pocket in his pajama pants. "_Tergeo! Scourgify! Evanesco!_' He said pointing his wand at the blood stain

Harry looked at Draco in vague amusement, "Is it clean enough for you? I'm sure if you tried you could think of a couple more cleaning charms to use on it. Besides, it still looks suspicious; it's the only clean spot in the whole attic now."

"Oh, ha ha. Just put that rug over there on top of it," Draco replied, pointing at a rug sitting on a trunk on the other side of the room.

Harry nodded and placed the rug over the now clean spot on the floor. When he finished he turned to Draco looking curious. "You know, that's the second time you've used your wand in the last two days, how come you haven't gotten an owl from the Ministry about underage use of magic?" He asked.

Draco sat down and leaned against the wall, watching as Harry went to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey, "My father removed the tracking charms that are on all underage witch's or wizard's wands. I can remove the charms on yours for you if you want. You don't need to be getting arrested for defending yourself again like you did last year," Draco replied. "Hey, grab those bandages and stuff and I'll re-wrap your arms before I forget."

Harry nodded and grabbed the bandages and healing cream that Draco had brought up with him and left on a table by the door when they had decided to clean the floor. As he sat down, Harry passed over the bandages and healing cream then set the Firewhiskey down between them before pulling his wand out of his sleeve and handing it too Draco.

While Draco removed the charms from his wand, Harry quickly pulled off his shirt so that Draco would be able to reach his arms, as he'd worn a long sleeve shirt to bed so that Ron wouldn't see the bandages on his arms. Once his shirt was off, he started on the bandages. By the time his arms were bare Draco had finished removing the tracking charms from his wand. Taking his wand back, Harry placed it on top of his short off to the side and turned to face Draco holding his arms out to him, staring at the angry red lines on each of his arms, the lines on his right arm angrier and more jagged than those on his left.

"God, I really did a number on myself, didn't I?" Harry muttered, glancing up at Draco.

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, you really did. Sorry it's not as good as Madam Pomfrey would have done, but I was more worried about closing the cuts and getting a blood replenishing potion into you. I think I can get them fixed up well enough that the scars will be pretty faint, they'll still be visible but they shouldn't be too terribly noticeable. If anyone asks, tell them Granger's cat got pissed at you or something. Though, the scars that will be on your right arm will be a bit more noticeable, since those cuts were deeper and more jagged than the ones on your left arm." As he spoke, Draco looked closely at the healing cuts on Harry's arms, making sure that they weren't infected.

Harry nodded and watched as Draco lightly ran his wand over each of the cuts, further healing them.

Once he was done with the healing charms, Draco pulled out the healing cream and began lightly rubbing the cream into Harry's arms, taking care to be extra gentle when in direct contact with the cuts.

As Draco began rubbing the cream into his arms, Harry's eyes drifted closed and he had to bite back a soft moan at the feel of the Slytherin's gentle ministrations. He quickly reopened his eyes when he felt the blonde begin to wrap new bandages around each of his arms.

"You should only need bandages on these for another day or so, but I do want to keep putting the cream on the cuts for a few more days, just to be sure that they get healed as much as possible," Draco told Harry.

The brunette nodded, "Sounds good. How'd you get so good at healing charms? And learn so much about Healing? It can't be just from having to go to the infirmary at school, I've been there way more than you have and I don't know most of the charms you just used. Granted, I'm normally unconscious when I'm in the infirmary, but still."

Draco laughed, "No, it's not from being sent to the infirmary. I, uh, I actually want to be a Healer after I graduate." The blonde looked a bit nervous as he revealed the last bit, like he thought Harry would mock him about his career choice.

Harry looked surprised at the revelation, "Really? I figured you'd do something with potions. Ya know, a Potions Master or something. What made you decide to be a Healer?"

Draco shrugged. "I thought about going into potions. I do like them and I am good at them, but I think it's something that I'd rather do in my free time. If it was my job, I don't think I'd enjoy it quite as much," He explained. "And I decided on Healing because, well, I think it's interesting. And I can still do quite a bit of potions with it as well. Plus, well, it's a way for me to help people; not that most people would believe I'd actually want to help anyone. I actually started looking up Healing spells to help my Mother. My father used to beat her; not often, but when he did it was bad. And I wanted to help her so I looked up some Healing spells. Then it was so interesting that I just kept reading more and more about Healing and it turns out that I'm pretty good at it, too."

Harry nodded as he opened the bottle of Firewhiskey and took a swig before passing the bottle to Draco. "That makes sense," He said, "It's like me with Quidditch; I love it but I wouldn't want to play for a living, it would take the fun out of it. I'm sorry to hear that about your Mum, but you're right, you are pretty good at it. And surprisingly, your bedside manner isn't too terrible either!"

Draco sent a mock glare at the grinning boy next to him as he finished swallowing the Firewhiskey in his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Potter. So, what do you want to do? After graduation, I mean."

Harry shrugged and took another healthy swig of alcohol. "Honestly? I have no clue. Never really figured I'd make it to graduation. I mean, I've nearly died every year since starting Hogwarts. First year with Quirrell, second year in the Chamber of Secrets with the Basilisk, third year I nearly got Kissed by Demontors, fourth year was Voldemort and the Tri-Wizard Tournament and last year was the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. And even if I do make it to graduation, there's still this stupid war, so it's not like I'd be free to pursue a career. When they asked us at school last year, I told McGonagall I wanted to be an Auror, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I've been fighting evil wizards since I was eleven, I really don't fancy doing it the rest of my bloody life, you know? Besides, even if I do make it out of school alive, I doubt I'll make it out of the war alive. So what's the point in making plans?"

Draco looked at the Gryfindor with wide eyes, "Damn, no wonder you wanted to kill yourself!" He muttered, taking another drink from the bottle Harry offered to him. "And part of the point in making plans is so that you have something to look forward to, a reason to survive the war. You should have dreams of a family and kids and a great career. The more you have to look forward to, the more reasons you have to live, the harder you fight and the more likely you are to make it out of this alive. So you should definitely make plans. Harry, if you go into this thing thinking you're going to lose, you will."

"And how exactly am I supposed to win when nobody tells me anything and I'm not getting any training? Seriously, does Dumbledore expect me to win this war by using a Tickling Charm on Voldemort until he laughs himself to death? The only 'training' I have is five years at Hogwarts and Voldemort not only has 7 years at Hogwarts, but he also has how many years outside Hogwarts studying the Dark Arts?" Harry ranted. "I'm pretty sure luck is the only reason I'm still alive. Well, and you. If you hadn't been here I would have died last night."

"You said something about a prophecy this morning, what did you mean?" Draco asked.

Harry snorted, "Before I was born Trelawny made this prediction. _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.'_ Isn't that cheerful? So basically it's kill or be killed. And you know what the funny thing is? It didn't have to be me. I wasn't the only one 'born as the seventh month dies' to parents 'who have thrice defied him.' It didn't have to be me, it could have been Neville. But Voldemort thought I was the bigger threat; not the Pureblood, but the Half-Blood like him. By attacking me all those years ago, he marked me as his equal. And ya know, I'm not even sure if I believe the stupid thing. It's not like it matters, though because Voldemort and Dumbledore both obviously believe it."

"What about the 'power the Dark Lord knows not?' What's that?" Draco asked.

"No clue," Harry replied, his words starting to slur a bit from the Firewhiskey, "Dumbledore says it's love," He snorted. "Yeah right! Ooo, I know! I'll defeat him by telling him I love him!" Harry dissolved into giggles.

"Ugh, that's disgusting! You forget that I saw him when I refused the Mark! That is the ugliest man…Thing, that I have ever seen!" Draco exclaimed, looking slightly nauseous. "I have to agree, though, that it probably isn't love. I have no idea what it is, but there's no way it's love."

Harry nodded drunkenly. "You know what pisses me off?" He asked, "How everyone expects me to do this all by myshelf with no training what-sho-ever! All they do is sit around on their arses."

"Oh yeah. What'sh the point in that? No wheres in the propheshy did I hear 'And he musht do it alone!' Even if you do end up haffing to be the one to kill 'im, it don't mean we can't hold the bashtard down while you do it," Draco replied, his words just a slurred as Harry's.

"Right!" Harry exclaimed before reaching for the Firewhiskey bottle, frowning when he realized it was empty. "Well, damn," He muttered as he set the bottle down next to his shirt and wand. "You really think I can win?" He asked looking at the blonde next to him.

Draco nodded, "Yep! You just need to think you can and find reasons to survive. I'll help, too."

"Help? Fight or find reasons to shurvive?" Harry asked as he leaned back against the wall.

"Both. Like I said, nowhere does that stupid propheshy say you have to do thish by yourshelf," Draco replied. "Ash for reasons to survive, hmmm, what about friends?"

Harry snorted, "I hope you don't mean Ron and 'Ermione. But friends could work if it was you and Gin and maybe Remush and Tonksh, too."

Draco nodded, "And from what we heard earlier, maybe Blaish, too. What about plansh? Career, family, that kind of shtuff."

Harry looked thoughtful, "I still don't know what kind of career I would want. Not an Auror, though. Or Quidditch, flying should be fun, not work. I think I do wanna help people some though, 'Mione says I haff a 'saving people thing.' Not sure, though, I'll have to think about that. I've always wanted a real family. The Dursleys aren't what I'd call a real family; they hate me. The Weasleys are the closhesht thing I've ever had to a real family. Oooo, I know what I can do for a job! I can start an orphanage for kids that haff lost their parents in the war! Then none of them will have to grow up with muggles like I did!"

Draco nodded his head, "That'sh a great idea! I can be your Healer, in case the kids get sick or hurt. Ya know, if you don't mind."

"I'd like that. Maybe Gin could work with ush, too. We should probably plan thish out when we're a bit more shober, though," Harry said, ending his statement with a huge yawn.

Draco yawned as well, "Yeah, we should probably get some sleep, too. I dunno about you, but shopping ex-exhau-tired me out today."

Harry nodded and slowly pulled himself to his feet before reaching out a hand to Draco to help him up. As Draco grabbed hold and started pulling himself up, Harry lost his balance causing both of them to tumble to the floor, Harry landing on top of Draco, knocking the breath out of them both. As Harry caught his breath he opened his eyes, finding Draco's beautiful mercury orbs just inches away from his own emerald gazes. Both boys froze as they made eye contact and Harry's eyes quickly flicked down as Draco licked his lips. After a few frozen moments, Harry made a move as though to lean forward before he caught himself and quickly rolled off of the Slytherin and pulling himself back up to a standing position. _'God, what is my problem?'_ He thought, _'That's just what I need to do, kiss Draco! He'd probably never talk to me again! Get ahold of yourself, Harry!'_

Draco watched Harry stand up with slightly wide eyes, _'Was he going to kiss me?'_ He thought to himself, _'No, it was probably just wishful thinking."_ He quickly gave himself a mental shake and stood up, gathering the medical supplies and placing them in the cupboard with Harry's Firewhiskey stash.

As the two boys headed for the door Draco stopped short looking at the brunette next to him, "Um, Harry? You might wanna put your shirt back on before we go back down or the Weasel might see the bandages if he wakes up before you."

Harry blinked for a moment as he looked down and realized he hadn't put his shirt back on, "Oops." He quickly went back over and grabbed his shirt, pulling it back on and grabbed his wand, which he had forgotten about as well. Once again fully clothed, Harry made his way back to Draco and the two went back downstairs.

"I'll see you in the morning," Harry said as they paused outside Draco's door.

"Yeah," The blonde replied before going into his room and closing the door with a yawn.

Harry quickly made his way back to his room and quietly slipped back inside, softly shutting the door behind him. He paused just inside the room, listening carefully and sighing softly as he heard Ron's snores coming from the other side of the room. He quickly made his way to his bed and slipped under the covers, rolling onto his stomach. He was asleep within minutes.

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**Yay! Another chapter done! I hope you liked it!**

**I hope this chapter did a good job of showing that Harry's not as happy-happy-joy-joy as he seemed in the last couple chapters. Part of his good mood was having people around him who weren't insisting that he talk about what happened with Sirius and who weren't judging him and were accepting him the way he is. Part of it was Draco and having someone on his side who knew a bit of what he was going through and how screwed up he was feeling and was sticking by him Another part of it was pretending that everything was okay. And part of it was ignoring for a day all of the screwed up crap in his life. I hope that makes sense.**

**This chapter was 7 pages and 3,128 words.**

**Please leave a review!! I wanna know what ya'll think of the chapter!**

**Kyra**


	9. He Has A Dark Mark!

**Title: **My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra

**Disclaimer:** Nothing but the plot is mine, so please don't sue! All you'd get is some pocket lint anyway.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through book 5, starts the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, just hints of it for now.

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**Chapter 9: He Has A Dark Mark!!**

Harry, Draco and Ginny walked into the kitchen for lunch whispering to each other. Ginny was wearing a pair of light blue low-rise jeans with a light blue shirt that read 'I Love Boys, They're Stupid!' in bright pink letters. Harry was on her left in a pair of loose grey jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that said 'Not Guilty By Reason Of Celebrity' across it in gold. On Ginny's right, Draco was wearing jeans that matched Harry's, only his were black instead of grey, and a long sleeved blue shirt that said 'Everyone Has The Right To Be Stupid But You Abuse The Privilege' in black across the front with the sleeves pushed halfway up his forearm.

"…So, what do you think? Wanna work with us?" Harry was asking as the Trio walked into the room.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Harry! It's probably something that should have happened a long time ago. And I'd love to work with you guys, though I'm not sure what I'll be able to contribute," Ginny replied.

Draco snorted softly, "That's easy. With as big of a family as you have, I'm pretty sure you'd probably make a pretty damn good den mother."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, Gin, I've seen you with some of the younger years, you're great with kids."

The redhead beamed at the two boys, trying not to blush. "Thanks guys. We'll definitely have to talk about this more later, see if we can't iron out a few of the details now, that way we can get it up and running as soon as possible," She said.

"Sounds good to me," Harry replied as the three of them sat down at the table, ignoring the curious looks being sent their way by Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus and Tonks.

"What are you talking about, mate?" Ron asked looking at Harry after casting a quick glare in Draco's direction. He really couldn't see why his best friend was insisting on hanging out with the ferret, he had barely spent time with anyone other that Ginny and the Slytherin in the past week, ever since the trip to London.

Hermione nodded, curious as well, "Yes, get what up and running?"

"Just a project I'm thinking about doing that Gin and Draco are going to help me with," Harry replied, barely glancing at the other two Gryffindors as he reached for a sandwich. He and Draco had finally gotten around to telling Ginny about Harry's idea to start up an orphanage for kids who lost their parents during the war. However, Harry didn't want anyone outside his immediate group of friends to know about it yet, and that group no longer included Ron and Hermione.

"Wait!" Ron exclaimed, "You're letting the Ferret help you with this project, but you won't even tell us what it is?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging, "Yeah, pretty much."

Draco snickered at the shocked looks on the faces of the three Weasleys and Hermione. He reached over with his left hand to grab a sandwich as well, having to stretch a bit and causing his shirt sleeve to slide back a bit further on his arm.

Ron glanced down as Draco reached for his sandwich and the redheaded boy's eyes widened as he caught sight of a bit of black peeking out from under Draco's sleeve. His hand shot out, grabbing the blonde's wrist.

"Hey! What the hell, Weasel?!" Draco exclaimed, jerking his arm back and away from the other boy.

"He has a Dark Mark!!" Ron yelled, pointing at Draco.

"_What?!_" Harry asked incredulously, "No he doesn't! Did you forget that he's here because he _refused_ the Mark?"

"I'm telling you he has the Dark Mark, Harry! I saw it when his sleeve slid up, there was black, on his left forearm, the same place where the Dark Mark goes!" Ron yelled angrily as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the Slytherin.

Hermione also pulled out he wand and pointed it at Draco.

Seeing the other two pointing their wands at Draco Harry quickly stood up and pulled Draco to his feet pushing the blonde boy behind himself, shielding the other boy with his body. Ginny quickly stood as well, also placing herself between Ron and Hermione's wands and her new friend.

"Harry! Ginny! Move!" Hermione exclaimed.

"He's not a Death Eater!" Harry nearly growled out, glaring furiously at the other two.

"Oh? Then why does he have a Dark Mark?" Ron demanded.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Draco exclaimed in exasperation as he pushed between Harry and Ginny, "It's not a bloody Dark Mark! It's a Muggle tattoo!" With that he pushed his sleeve the rest of the way up before switching arms and pushing his right sleeve up as well and holding both arms out, forearms up.

There on Draco's left forearm were the words _'Meus Vita Quod Meus Fortuna Es Meus Own'_ in black and on his right forearm was a black Dragon.

Harry glared at his former best friends, "I have the same one on my left arm, Ron. You gonna accuse me of being a Death Eater as well?" He spat.

"What? Merlin, no, Harry! How could you even ask that?" Ron replied, looking shocked.

We're sorry, son," Mr. Weasley said as he moved over to Harry, "But you have to admit that a tattoo in the same spot as the Mark is a bit suspicious. You boys should have just told us about them," He said as he clapped a hand onto Harry's back.

Harry let out a yelp and jumped away from the Weasley Patriarch.

"Harry?" Mr. Weasley questioned.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Let me see it, Harry. I need to make sure he didn't aggravate it too much," He said as he moved toward the dark haired boy.

Harry just nodded and turned his back to Draco, reaching over his head and pulling the back of his shirt up so that the blonde could see his right shoulder blade.

Ron, Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all let out gasps as they saw Harry's shoulder.

Tonks just grinned, "Very cool, Harry."

Ginny nodded, "It's very nice, I like it. I'm guessing this is what distracted you two while we were in London last week?"

Harry nodded, wincing slightly as Draco touched the still-healing tattoo that covered most of his right shoulder blade. It was a large 'M' with a Stag, a Wolf and a large Dog surrounding it or peeking out from behind it along with a Lily flower wrapped around part of the 'M.'

After a few minutes, Draco stepped back, "It should be fine," He said and Harry let go of his shirt, letting it fall back into place.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Hermione spoke up, "What do they mean?" She asked curiously.

"Well, the 'M' is for 'Marauders,' the Stag is my Dad, the Wol-" Harry started slowly, as though her were talking to a particularly stupid child.

"No, no," Hermione interrupted, "I didn't mean that one, I now what it means. I meant the others."

Harry and Draco both smirked, knowing exactly which tattoos she was talking about but having too much fun to just give her the answer that she wanted.

This time it was Draco who answered, "Well, you see, 'Draco' is Latin for 'Dragon.' So the Dragon represents me."

Hermione threw a vicious glare his way, or at least she thought it vicious; Harry, Draco and Ginny just found it amusing. "I meant the words," She hissed in annoyance.

"It's Latin," Harry replied, "It means 'My Life And My Fate Are My Own.'"

"Oh."

"No, if you don't mind, I'm not really all that hungry anymore so I'm going to go back up to my room," Draco said before turning and leaving the room.

Harry and Ginny turned and started to follow him only to be stopped by Ron's voice.

"Hey, where are you two going?" The redhead asked.

Harry glanced back at him for a moment before continuing out the door, "Yeah, I'm not all that hungry anymore, either."

Ginny nodded, not even turning back to glance at her brother, "Same here."

With that, they exited the kitchen and followed Draco up to his room.

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**Well, what did you think? You finally found out what distracted Harry and Draco while in London, yay! LOL**

**So, the main reason it took me so long to get this out is because I had someone who was supposed to be drawing the tattoos for me but she flaked on me and I decided that you had all waited long enough for this. If anyone would like to take a shot at making a pic of the tattoos and e-mail it to me, I'd really appreciate it. I really want a visual for people to look at if they want but I can't draw for shit.**

**Next chapter: The train ride back to Hogwarts!**

**I hope you liked it! Please, please, please leave a review and let me know what you thought!**

**Kyra**


	10. On The Hogwarts Express

**Title: **My Own Demise

**Author:** Kyra

**Disclaimer:** Nothing but the plot is mine, so please don't sue! All you'd get is some pocket lint anyway.

**Summary:** Harry's tired of everyone expecting him and him alone to save the world, or die trying.

**Spoilers:** Through book 5, starts the following summer.

**Warnings:** Slight slash, nothing hardcore though, just hints of it for now.

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**Chapter 10: On The Hogwarts Express**

Grimmauld Place was absolute chaos. It was September first and Ron and Hermione were running all over the house trying to finish their last minute packing while Mrs. Weasley bustled around trying to make sure everyone had eaten and trying to hurry the returning students up. Harry, Draco and Ginny just sat on the couch watching on in amusement. Nyx was laying in Ginny's lap content to be petted by the three teens.

Mrs. Weasley came into the room, looking frazzled. "Oh!" She exclaimed when she caught sight of the three on the couch, "What are you three doing just sitting there? We have to leave in twenty minutes or we'll be late! Now go finish packing!"

Draco simply raised an eyebrow at the redheaded matriarch and motioned to the end of the couch where three trunks were sitting. "We're done," He stated, "We finished last night."

Mrs. Weasley blinked at the trio before spinning and leaving the room once more, bellowing for Ron to hurry up as she went.

Twenty minutes later and everyone was loading into a Ministry car for the ride to King's Cross Station. The car that they were using appeared to be a regular four-door car on the outside while the inside was that of a van. Ginny, Draco, Harry and Tonks were all squished together on the back row of seats with Ron, Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in front of them and Moody sitting shotgun while Remus drove.

As soon as they pulled up to the station Mrs. Weasley hustled everyone out of the car and pushed them toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters as Mr. Weasley opened the trunk and started pulling their luggage out and loading it onto carts. The five students took their carts and quickly made their way to the platform. Once on the platform, Ron and Hermione stopped to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley while the other three quickly boarded the train, Harry and Draco sending brief waves back toward the adults and Ginny tossing a quick "Bye, Mum; bye, Dad" over her shoulder.

Draco, Ginny and Harry snickered as the final whistle blew and Hermione had to scramble to board the train in time. They headed down the train looking for a compartment, Harry in the front, none of them really paying attention to Hermione and Ron trailing behind them.

Harry paused outside a compartment, staring thoughtfully at the lone occupant before nodding to himself and opening the compartment door and making his way inside, followed by Ginny then Draco.

The boy in the compartment looked up as the door opened, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as Harry entered the compartment and his eyes widening slightly in shock when Draco followed the two Gryffindors into the compartment. He quickly turned his attention back to Harry. "Potter," He greeted, "Can I ask why you're in my compartment?"

Harry nodded back at the other boy as he stowed his trunk away and reached for Ginny's. "Zabini. We just needed somewhere to sit," He replied motioning to himself, Ginny and Draco as he finished stowing Ginny's trunk. "You don't mind do you? We can find somewhere else if it's a problem."

Blaise opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Ron and Hermione appeared in the door.

"Harry, why are we sitting here? With _another_ Slytherin?" Ron whined. "Can't we just leave Malfoy here and sit somewhere else?"

Harry glared at Ron. "No one ever said _you_ had to sit here, Ron. Draco, Gin and I are; if you two don't want to sit with Slytherins find somewhere else to sit."

Blaise glanced back and forth between the two groups in interest, wondering why Harry was siding with Draco over his two best friends.

"Why don't you go find Neville or Seamus or Dean?" Ginny suggested, "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to let you sit with them. Because, honestly, if you can't be nice then you aren't really welcome in here. And seeing as to how you couldn't even be nice to Draco for a month, I really can't see you being able to play nice with two Slytherins."

Hermione and Ron stared at Ginny in shock while Harry and Draco merely smirked and Blaise tried to hide his snickers at the expressions on Ron and Hermione's faces.

Ron's face was rapidly turning an interesting shade of red and Hermione was blinking furiously.

"I think you should leave now," Harry said calmly, not taking his eyes off his former best friends.

Ron opened his mouth to start ranting but Hermione placed a restraining hand on his arm, "Come on, Ron. Now isn't the time for this," She told him before turning to Harry and Ginny, "But I can assure you that we _will_ talk about this."

With that she pulled Ron from the compartment, Ron slamming the door behind them, and they headed off down the train.

Ginny let out a frustrated sigh and flopped down next to Blaise. He turned and looked at her with amusement, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

Harry cleared his throat, "So, um, is it okay if we sit here?" He asked.

The dark haired Slytherin glanced back up at him and nodded, "Sure." He turned his attention to Draco as the boys sat down across form him and Ginny. "So, I hear you refused the Dark Mark."

Draco slowly nodded his head, remembering the conversation that he had overheard in Diagon Alley two weeks ago and hoping that Blaise hadn't changed his views since then. "Yeah, I did. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Nope. Really can't blame you, to be honest. But Pansy is pretty damn pissed," Blaise replied.

Draco snorted softly, "Good, maybe she'll leave me the hell alone now. I was beginning to run out of was to reject her."

"I also heard that your Mum had disappeared. Do you know where she is?" Blaise asked.

The blonde shook his head, "No clue. All I know is that she's safe."

"That's good. So what's with the hair and the new clothes?"

Draco grinned and ran a hand through his black-streaked blonde locks. "Like it?" He asked. "I thought it was time for a change. It's not like my father can do anything about it now. Oh and I even got a couple Muggle tattoos!" Draco quickly pushed up his sleeves to show Blaise his new tattoos.

"I think the new look works for you," Blaise said as he leaned forward to get a better look at the tattoo on Draco's left forearm, "_My Life And My Fate Are My Own_?" He glanced up to see if he had gotten the translation right.

Draco nodded, "Yeah, we thought it fit. Harry has the same one."

Blaise raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor and got a nod in return. "Cool," He then turned to Ginny with a mischievous grin on his face, "And what about you? Any tattoos you wanna share? Maybe a new piercing?"

Ginny shook her head, "Nope sorry. Harry and Draco didn't tell me they were getting the tattoos until a week later or I might have gotten one as well. Or maybe a belly ring," She stood up and turned to Blaise, pulling her shirt up to just below her breasts which combined with her low rise jeans bared the entirety of her abdomen. "What do you think? Would a belly ring look good on me?" She asked, her eyes positively dancing.

Blaise's mind blanked as he took in the expanse of bare skin before him. He was brought back to reality as he heard Draco and Harry start snickering. He shot a glare at the other two boys, "Oh shut up!"

Ginny giggled and let her shirt fall back into place before retaking her seat next to Blaise. Though neither Harry nor Draco missed the fact that she sat down closer to him than she had before

Blaise leered playfully at the redhead next to him, "I think a belly ring would look great. Though, I don't think I'd want anyone else to see it."

Ginny giggled again before turning to glare as Harry and Draco started making retching noises. Both boys quickly stopped and gave her their most innocent looks.

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

Ginny and Blaise stopped talking as they noticed the train slowing down. They had been talking quietly between themselves for the past hour, ever since Harry and Draco had dozed off.

Blaise turned to wake the other boys up but stopped short when he saw them. Draco was propped up in the corner of the seat while Harry was nestled into his side, his head resting on the blonde's shoulder, Draco's head resting on top of Harry's. Blaise blinked a couple times before turning back to Ginny who was looking at the boys with a small smile on her face.

"Are they…?" He trailed off as he looked back at the sleeping boys.

Ginny shook her head, "No. But they both want to be." She quickly moved over to the other boys and knelt down in front of them, reaching out and gently shaking Harry awake.

"Hmm?" Harry slowly blinked awake, his green eyes unfocused from sleep.

Ginny smiled, "We're almost there, time to wake up."

Harry nodded, causing Draco to sigh in his sleep and move his head so that it was now leaning against the wall next to them. Harry turned to look at the still sleeping boy, not really realizing that he was still leaning on him.

Ginny glanced between them for a moment before deciding to let Harry wake Draco up and moving back to Blaise's side.

Blaise watched with interest as Harry simply watched the blonde sleep for a few minutes, seemingly forgetting that Ginny and Blaise were in the compartment as well, before reaching out and gently tracing the other boy's features, a small smile on his face. Draco let out another small sigh and leaned into Harry's fingers. Harry smiled again as he moved his hand from Draco's face down to his shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

"Draco," He whispered softly, "Draco, time to wake up, we're here."

Draco slowly blinked his eyes open, looking slightly confused before his eyes focused and connected with Harry's emerald gaze a few inches in front of him. A soft smile spread over his face, "Hey," He said softly s he reached up to move a lock of hair out of Harry's eyes.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise as Draco leaned in and gently brushed his lips over Harry's. Moments later, Harry let his eyes drift closed as he returned the blonde's kiss, his hand drifting over to rest on the Slytherin's chest. He tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss. Draco's arms wrapped around Harry and moments later the dark haired boy let out a soft moan as Draco gently traced his tongue over Harry's lower lip, silently asking permission to enter. Harry let out another soft moan as he opened his mouth, Draco's tongue slipping inside to explore. Moments later, Harry was chasing Draco's tongue back into the blonde's mouth with his own, gently exploring and mapping out each crevice in the other boy's mouth. After a few minutes, the two slowly pulled back, brushing soft lingering kisses over each other's lips for a moment before pulling back a few inches and letting their eyes flutter open and smiling softly at each other, emerald orbs locked with mercury.

Ginny and Blaise sat across the compartment, their jaws dropped in shock and their eyes wide.

Ginny was the first to snap out of her shock, "It's about damn time," She muttered, causing Harry and Draco to jump, Harry nearly falling off the seat, Draco's arms still wrapped around him the only thing keeping him from tumbling to the floor.

Harry and Draco both blushed and ducked their heads as Harry slowly sat up fully, pulling away from Draco in the process.

Ginny glanced at Blaise out of the corner of her eye. "Is it just me or was that seriously hott?" She asked.

Blaise just nodded, his violet eyes still locked on the two boys across the compartment. "It's not just you," He muttered.

The four students snapped out of their haze as the train came to a complete stop. All four quickly pulled a robe on over their clothes before getting off the train and heading for the carriages.

Ginny smiled and nudged Blaise as she noticed that Harry and Draco were discretely holding hands, their hands almost completely hidden by their robes, and that they were walking close enough to each other that their shoulders were brushing.

Blaise smirked as he caught sight of what Ginny had already seen.

"They look good together, don't they?" Ginny asked in a whisper, her eyes still locked on the boys walking just in front of her.

Blaise just nodded as he slipped his hand into hers, grinning down at her when she glanced up at him, "Yeah, they do."

**HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM**

**Well, what did you think? They **_**finally**_** kissed!! YAY!! I almost had it be an almost-kiss again, they were gonna remember that they weren't alone and end up not kissing, but just the thought of doing that was frustrating. And I was kind of afraid of what would happen if I did that to ya'll again! LOL!**

**Anywho, review? Please? I really wanna know what you thought. Especially about the kiss, I'm kinda nervous about how that turned out, it's the first time I've really written a slash kiss. Or even detailed a kiss that much.**

**I can't wait to see what you all thought of this chapter!!**

**Kyra**


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